Cast the Darkest Shadow
by Aku Blossom
Summary: Momoko feels as though no one truly appreciates her as a hero. Even her own sister seems unimpressed by her record as Hyper Blossom. When she discovers a mysterious new transformation, is it the chance she's been waiting for? A chance to finally be loved?
1. Monday

_**Cast the Darkest Shadow**_

**Deus Ex Procella**

**Author's Note: This is the last time I'm reposting this. I just think this and The Light that Blinds deserve to live, even when I scrap the rest.  
**

* * *

_Ah…it's that same memory again. The memory of how those pathetic brats finished me off after I was beaten. What I wouldn't give for another chance, for a shot at them with all of my power! If only I hadn't been arrogant…if I hadn't allowed myself to be caught off guard. I thought with him dead, I was unstoppable even in this weak form._

The darkness shifted uneasily and a fiery form rose up and licked his dry lips. He glanced about the unending night and growled, causing a burning light to illuminate his surroundings. Chuckling mirthlessly, he stood up and walked into the darkness, causing a cityscape to materialize around him. The demonic figure yawned and sat on the edge of the building he had appeared upon, resting his cheek on his scorpion-like claw dully. The peaceful slumber of the city was irritating, even more so when it was interrupted by the glow of lights too great for mortal eyes to comprehend.

_My light! It is out there, dispersed amongst all of those…ignorant little creatures! Each of them using MY power as their own! If only I could just take it back! It's not that simple though…is it? I'm just a shadow of my former self, an empty husk that needs to be replenished. If I could take back my light, I would become the great adversary I was before! But thanks to him, thanks to him I'm almost powerless!_

Powerless was a relative term, considering that the demon was the single most powerful entity on the planet. But being the single most powerful being only allowed him so much leverage. Since _he_ had defeated his original body and left him in a shallow husk of his former self, he could only feel powerless by comparison to how great he once was. Then they had come, ChakiChaki Musume, they had defeated his weakened form! All thanks to _him_. It was absolutely infuriating!

_I need someone to gather my light for me…to reap what is rightfully mine! But how…every monster my demon seeds create is defeated by those damned Powerpuff Girls Z! Even stealing their weapons, even using them against those brats wasn't enough! Those insolent little bitches! How can I beat them if their own weapons aren't enough to kill them?! I need something more…something even closer…something stronger…_

A wicked grin danced across his lips, and a low chuckle built up in his throat. That was it! That was the secret to his ultimate victory! He would need something more than their weapons, something more than their power…he needed to completely destroy Powerpuff Girls Z! Not just embarrass or humiliate them, not just ruin them mentally but to completely and utterly destroy them beyond repair!

Kare rose from where he sat and laughed out loud, causing street lamps beneath him to shatter and stars in the night sky to dim. His laugh grew more frenzied as his demon seeds shot up around him, becoming a fierce whirlwind, like a dark storm threatening to topple the city. Kare floated into the air and vanished, along with his seeds, back into the darkness.

* * *

"Miyako! Hey wait up!" Miyako stopped and turned around , smiling when she saw Momoko running up, waving her arm frantically trying to get Miyako's attention. The red-haired hero maniac caught up with her, panting and grinning broadly. "Thanks!" Miyako smiled and continued walking to the doors of Tokyo City Jr. High School.

"It's fine Momoko, why were you in such a hurry? You aren't particularly late for school," Momoko shrugged and finally caught her breath.

"I just saw you up ahead and wanted to walk with you Miyako, that's okay right?" Miyako giggled and nodded, her pigtails bouncing slightly.

"Of course Momoko, I just don't want you to hurt yourself next time." Miyako face faulted as a bead of sweat slid down her head, "Like tripping while running that fast," Momoko stuck her tongue out and both giggled. Momoko and Miyako came to a halt as a boy walked up to them. Momoko, true to form, nearly began to drool as he approached. The boy was, to say the least, quite attractive, with shaggy brown hair and sparkling green eyes. An athletic build accompanied by a fancy outfit and you had a boy Momoko would drool over any day. He completely ignored Momoko; however, and held out a small slip of paper to Miyako.

"Hey there Miyako, I'm having a party this weekend. I'd be jacked if you'd be there," Miyako took the invitation and smiled up at the boy.

"Oh thank you! I'll have to see if I have time to go," She opened the invitation to look it over, not noticing how Momoko's lustful look faded and became one of distinct hurt when the boy had left without even looking at her. By the time Miyako looked up, Momoko had replaced her hurt look with one of cheerful disposition. Smiling back, Miyako and Momoko headed into the classroom, where Momoko was appalled to say the least to see everyone holding invitations exactly like Miyako's, chatting away vibrantly and discussing the party.

"Oh geez…uh…hey there's Kaoru!" Momoko hurried back to Kaoru's seat, stopping icily when she noticed the invitation lying on Kaoru's desk. "H-Hey Kaoru! So you were invited to that party too, huh?" Kaoru looked up at Momoko and shrugged.

"Yeah I guess, I think everyone was." Momoko didn't say anything and only laughed sheepishly, scratching her head as Miyako took her seat nearby.

"Yeah, you aren't actually going right?" Kaoru again shrugged and picked up the invitation, looking over it.

"Well maybe, it sounds like it would be pretty cool. There's supposed to be a garage band playing." Kaoru grinned, but frowned and looked around when she noticed that Momoko had gone to her seat. Thinking nothing off it, Kaoru shrugged and returned to finishing up her homework from the night before.

* * *

Momoko picked at her lunch, throwing miserable glances at Miyako and Kaoru every few minutes. Her two best friends didn't notice as they continued digging into their food and discussing various topics that Momoko hadn't paid a bit of attention to. Momoko honestly wanted to be mad at Miyako and Kaoru, but couldn't find it in her heart to stay angry at them for something that wasn't their fault. Regardless, Kaoru had almost been correct. Most everyone had been invited to the party, but even half the day later, Momoko hadn't.

"Hey girls, do you think," Momoko was cut off as her belt compact began flashing. Sighing and shaking her head to let Miyako and Kaoru know that she wasn't going to continue, the three packed their things up and snuck out of the lunchroom, charging for the roof. Upon exiting onto the roof, the three cried out.

"Hyper Blossom!"

"Rolling Bubbles!"

"Powered Buttercup!" A flash of pink and hearts, a burst of blue and bubbles, and an explosion of green and stars melted away the three thirteen year old girls and replaced them with the super heroines Hyper Blossom, Rolling Bubbles, and Powered Buttercup. Blossom pulled out her compact and flipped it open, revealing the image of a strange monster attacking the city.

"What in the world is this thing?" Blossom questioned, trying to identify the unnatural abomination. Buttercup shrugged and pulling out her hammer, floated into the air and gestured for Blossom and Bubbles to join her.

"Let's find it and we can ask it ourselves!" The other two nodded and the three flew off toward Tokyo City Space Center, where the monster had apparently appeared out of nowhere. The monster looked was only vaguely humanoid, with blood red skin and a very streamlined physique with almost no visible muscle. It had few facial features, only six black slits in its otherwise bare visage, with three on each side. Its forearms bulged and hand two holes at the ends where hands should be. Its legs differed greatly from its upper body, being basically twin horse legs completely red and smooth. It had a very long, thin mouse-like tail coming from its behind. On its head it had no ears but two protrusions that looked like dishes on either temple.

"Hold it right there, monster!" The creature looked up, seeing the three heroines landed across from him, striking dramatic poses and facing it confidently.

"Magical Science Fighting Legend! Powerpuff Girls Z!" The monster was unimpressed and didn't waste time in raising its arms, gathering sickly green energy spheres into the ends of its arms. Powerpuff Girls Z cringed back, very worried about what kind of destructive power the blasts might have. Making no sound, the monster fired out twin spheres of green light. Powerpuff Girls Z dodged the orbs rather easily, ducking when they exploded, but made no sound. A large amount of light was released, blinding Powerpuff Girls Z and leaving them unable to track the whereabouts of the monster.

As if on cue, the monster crossed the distance to Buttercup and kneed her fiercely in the stomach. Buttercup doubled over and dropped her hammer, gasping for air. With a senseless gesture, the monster lifted its arm and fired a green orb at Buttercup. The silent explosion sent her flying across the space center and crashing into a model spaceship, tearing it apart quite easily.

"Yeow! That really hurt!" Buttercup yelled, picking herself up and looking around trying to locate the creature.

"Look out Buttercup! Bubble Champagne!" Bubbles flew forward and swung her wand, releasing dozens of bubbles, which surrounded Buttercup. The monster suddenly appeared when it crashed into the bubbles and was knocked to the ground. Buttercup grinned at the monster and swung her hammer at it.

"Megaton Dunk!" The monster raised its arms and blocked her swing, shocking all three of them. Knowing that Buttercup was in trouble, Blossom acted quickly and charged at the monster.

"Shooting Yo-yo!" Releasing the yo-yo with a hard throw, it slammed into the back of the monster's head and knocked it off balance so that Buttercup was able to hit it with a follow-up, Megaton Dunk attack. Upon landing a few feet away, the creature leapt to its feet and steadied itself, firing out a barrage of green orbs at the three.

"Dodge them!" Blossom shouted, as Bubbles and Buttercup eagerly obeyed the needless command. The three dodged relentlessly, at the very fast monster continued blasting at them. Looking around for some kind of out, Blossom spotted a model UFO hanging from the ceiling a few yards behind the monster.

"Bubbles! Buttercup! I know how we can beat it!" This caught the green and blue heroines' attention readily and the three quickly regrouped a few feet away and above the monster, which stopped firing and just stared in their direction, warily. Bubbles and Buttercup turned to Blossom questioningly and then followed her line of vision to the UFO hanging from the ceiling.

"Buttercup, knock one of those orbs back at the monster and knock it back underneath that thing, then we can drop it onto the monster and I bet it'll stop it!" Buttercup and Bubbles nodded, but the moment they turned back to the monster, they noticed a flurry of green orbs heading their way.

"Look out!" Powerpuff Girls Z scattered and dodged the orbs, just to find that the monster had vanished. "Where is it?" Blossom looked around wearily, but while backing up felt an obstruction in her path. Turning she saw the monster now standing behind her. Unfortunately, before Blossom could react the monster rammed its knee into her stomach, forcing Blossom to double over with all of the air forced from her lungs. The monster raised both arms, charging up larger than normal green orbs and firing them off in Blossom's face.

"Blossom!" Bubbles and Buttercup shouted, watching their self-appointed leader fly through the air and crash through a large moon rock, lying unmoving on the ground afterward. Buttercup knocked Bubbles out of the way as the monster appeared near them and dropping her hammer allowed her years of martial arts to come into play, matching the speedy monster blow for blow and leading him back. Bubbles noted how Buttercup was leading the monster and grinned in appreciation for the green heroine's abilities. Buttercup called up her hammer again and pulled back after dodging a blast from the creature.

"Eat this ugly! Megaton Dunk!" Buttercup rammed the hammer into the side of the monster's head, knocking it through the air painfully. Bubbles drew her wand back and swung it.

"Bubble Popper!" Explosive bubbles shot out of the wand and repeatedly slammed into the creature and knocking it onto the ground near where they needed it to be. The monster rose and held up its arms firing green orbs at Bubbles.

"Leave this to me Bubbles! Smash Block!" Buttercup dove in front of Bubbles and swung her hammer like a baseball bat, clubbing the orbs and knocking them back at it. The monster seemed to be shocked and didn't react as the spheres slammed into it and knocked it onto its back.

"Now it's my turn! Bubble Champagne II!" Bubbles swung her wand and a flurry of bubbles shot out and rammed the cable attaching the UFO to the ceiling. There was a resounding snap as the chord broke and the UFO fell onto the monster, crushing it beneath its assuredly great weight. Nearby, Blossom began to regain consciousness, starting when she felt someone grab her wrist and pull her out of the rubble.

"Hey Blossom! Glad you could join us, your plan worked!" Blossom stared at Buttercup dizzily trying to comprehend what her comrade was talking about. She then saw the smashed UFO and beamed, proud that her idea had stopped the monster.

"That's g," Blossom was cut off when an ocean of cheering people appeared and a rift came to be between Blossom and her two comrades.

"Buttercup! That was amazing! Where did you come up with that idea?" Blossom's eyes widened and a very visibly hurt look spread across her face.

"H-hey! It was," Blossom was cut off when another person clapped Bubbles on the shoulders and congratulated her for her remarkable quick thinking. Bubbles blushed and held her hands up defensively.

"No wait you don't understand it was," Bubbles' voice was drowned out in a sea of applause and praise. Blossom put her hand down and gave up trying clear up the mistake. She smiled at Bubbles and Buttercup, who were throwing her very apologetic looks. Blossom waved her hand dismissively and made her way through the crowd to head home, while Bubbles and Buttercup were trapped in the congratulatory crowd.

* * *

Momoko entered her house, leaving the door open to allow her little sister, Kuriko, to hurry in after her. Kuriko was aware of Momoko's clearly displaced mood and had been interrogating her sister trying to figure out some way to make her happy.

"Sis! Hey do you wanna watch Miracle Fighting S with me? Mommy and Daddy won't be home till late tonight, so we can stay up and have a marathon before they get home tonight!" Momoko smiled appreciatively and plopped down on the sofa. Kuriko, thinking she had officially solved Momoko's problem dove onto the couch, making Momoko jump and laugh.

"Kuriko don't do that! You'll get hurt you little brat!" Kuriko grinned up at Momoko and snatched the remote, still lying across Momoko's lap as she turned on the TV and the DVD player.

"Yeah, yeah, you keep saying that Momoko but it still hasn't happened yet!" Momoko rolled her eyes and tried to smile, but it wavered when the same nagging question from before plagued her mind.

"Hey Kuriko, you think Blossom is a good leader for Powerpuff Girls Z, right?" Kuriko threw an incredulous glance at Momoko, before shaking her head and turning back to the anime now splashed across the TV screen.

"Maybe, but she's so lame! Buttercup would be a better leader I bet!" Kuriko didn't catch the hitch in Momoko's breathing, nor did she notice the cringe in Momoko's eyes. Momoko recovered quickly enough, but though her outward appearance was that of enjoyment, inside she was a storm of melancholy.

* * *

Kakiko and Mr. Akatsutsumi had come home earlier than expected, cutting the Akatsutsumi Sisters' anime marathon short. Now Momoko had changed into her pajamas and was lying on her bed in the dark, staring up at the ceiling. Her eyes were watering and her breathing was hitched and strained. The lump in her throat was enormous, and the more she tried to swallow it the sicker she felt at her stomach.

"Am I really that lame? Even Kuriko doesn't like Blossom? But…" Momoko rolled over onto her side, burying herself underneath the covers. The lump that was Momoko began trembling shortly afterward and the sound of Momoko's rather pathetic sobbing shattered the silence of the room—which was previously only broken by the sound of the wind slipping in through the window. Momoko shortly slipped into a fitful sleep, thrashing about uneasily, throwing the blanket away from her head. A wicked chuckle slipped in the window, riding on the wind and leading a very small cloud of dust across the room and to Momoko.

_No one really appreciates you, do they? Hehehe, why don't we show them what you are really capable of, would you like that Momoko? They'll all recognize you, whether they want to or not!_

Momoko's chest heaved as the cloud of dust slipped into her mouth, ears and even up her nose. She thrashed once again for a few minutes, before settling down into a dreamless sleep. In the darkness, Momoko's white aura appeared. And in Momoko's white aura, strains of black appeared and began to choke it.


	2. Tuesday

_**Cast the Darkest Shadow**_

**Deus Ex Procella**

* * *

The sunlight shone in through Momoko's window, falling upon the motionless lump in the middle of the bed. The lump stirred and slid to the forward. A resounding thump was heard, followed by a small moan of pain. Lying on the floor, Momoko untangled herself wearily from her blankets and sat up, her hair streaked with sweat and covering her face. Momoko brushed it aside and hissed when her whole body protested her standing up. Giving into fatigue, Momoko crawled across her floor and upon reaching the bedroom door, grabbed the knob and used it to pull to her feet. 

"Oh…AAH!" She screamed softly her knees buckling under the weight of her body. With another thump, Momoko collapsed on the floor and resigned to just lay there until the immense pain coursing through her subsided. Seconds crept by so slowly the sound of Momoko's own heart beating caused her head to throb. Figuring that a hot bath might be the necessary remedy to be capable of walking again, Momoko pulled her door open and with another soft scream pulled to her feet and practically rolled along the wall making her way to the bathroom.

When she finally reached the sanctuary of the washing facility, Momoko tried the knob and nearly cried when she found that someone had already occupied the bathroom. Knowing that her parents were more than likely already up and about, she banged on the door as hard as her weary physical state would allow.

"Kuriko hurry up! Come on I don't have all day!" Her voice startled her at first. Surprisingly despite how physically she was devoid of energy, her voice actually seemed stronger than it had the previous day. A few more painful seconds passed before the lock clicked and Kuriko waltzed out of the bathroom, staring at her older sister in concern.

"Are you okay Momoko? You look like you're hurt," Momoko nodded and stumbled past Kuriko, practically falling into the bathroom, only barely managing to catch the sink to keep from falling.

"I'm fine, just really tired. Go downstairs already," Kuriko nodded, casting another worried look at Momoko before hurrying downstairs for breakfast. Momoko shoved the door shut and locked it, taking only a few moments before collapsing in the tub her pajamas strewn carelessly across the bathroom with steaming water pouring in around her. Momoko moaned and sat up to turn the water off lest the tub overflow, before collapsing against its back and closing her eyes. She was right, the hot water was working wonders for her aching muscles. It wasn't just her muscles that were aching though…it felt like everything that made up who and what she was, was writhing in pain. Her skeleton, every nerve ending, her muscles, her hair, her skin, everything hurt just simply because it was there.

"Geez…I must have really slept wrong…" There it was again, the only thing about her that didn't seem to be throbbing in pain. Her voice was shockingly powerful, it was a little tired but overall it was the only fully functioning part of her at the moment. Of course the physical pain wasn't the worst of it all. Well, it had been until the hot water had cleared her mind enough to remember the previous day. Momoko slid deeper into the hot water, staring up at the ceiling, her eyebrows knit in confusion. Some hero she was…she'd been completely knocked out by that monster yesterday and left Bubbles and Buttercup to beat it by themselves. Then to make it worse she hadn't been invited to the party that apparently **everyone** in the entire Jr. High was invited to! And just to top off a perfect day, her sister thought she was a failure as a super heroine!

Momoko slid under the water, her body protesting being curled up after she had stretched out for so long. Time just drifted over her as she struggled to maintain some kind of emotional stability, unless of course she wanted to start bawling like a baby in the bathtub before school. God she couldn't help it, but regardless she felt like an absolute loser for crying herself to sleep last night. Time drifted on, without a care in the world completely ignoring Momoko lying in the bathtub crying all alone. Unfortunately like everything in the world, she couldn't stay hidden there forever, and a harsh knocking on the door snapped her out of her descent into abysmal self-loathing.

"Momoko! Momoko you're late for school!" Momoko shot up, covering her mouth and screaming when her body bit back violently against this rushed movement. Her mother knocked on the door again, hearing Momoko's scream and becoming considered. "Momoko? Are you okay sweetie?" Momoko bit her lip as she hurried out of the tub, drying herself with the speed of a ancient machine covered in rust. Quickly fixing her hair and brushing her teeth without once glancing at the mirror, Momoko ran into the door and fell against it, whining painfully as she unlocked it and promptly tackled her mother while exiting the bathroom.

"Momoko! What's wrong sweetie? Did you get hurt?" Kakiko asked worriedly. Momoko slumped against her mother, feeling like she was Kuriko's age again and all of the emotional crap she was dealing with just slid away. Sighing contentedly, Momoko shook her head, cringing from the sharp sting in her neck, and hugged her mom.

"No, no I'm okay Mom. Just, fell asleep I think…I didn't sleep very good last night," Kakiko returned Momoko's embrace and smoothed out her daughter's hurriedly fixed ponytail.

"It's alright Momoko, just go get dressed and hurry to school. Are you sure you're okay? I need to head off to work," Momoko nodded and smiled gratefully when Kakiko kissed her head and hurried off down the stairs. Momoko's legs buckled almost immediately as she fell against the wall. Her eyes clenched painfully and with every step she felt like nails were being driven into the soles of her feet. Once she'd finally managed to get to her room, she dressed as quickly as she possibly could, snatching up her backpack—which was filled with homework she'd completely forgotten to do—and rushed down the stairs. Today was already looking like it was going to be worse than yesterday…she could hardly wait to get to school—providing she could make it that far….

* * *

Momoko half ran, half stumbled down the street, panting and moaning as she tried to make it to school before it was out. True it was still morning, but with how torn and tired she felt, she could foresee it taking her several hours to get across town. Finally the pain became too unbearable and Momoko collapsed on the sidewalk having just passed by the Tokyo City Bank. Thinking back, she cursed herself for not asking her mom to simply drive her to school. Then again, Kakiko was already late for work, driving Momoko to school would have only made her even more late. 

"Geez, someone help me out here…I can't even walk anymore…"As if on cue, an explosion rocked the corner. Momoko looked up and saw that the front window of the bank had been blown out. Pushing herself up, hissing the whole way, Momoko craned her neck and looked in. Her eyes widened when she saw a giant yellow monster holding up the bank. What a monster could use money for, she wasn't entirely sure but duty overruled her curiosity. Managing to stumble to her feet, Momoko's eyes darted left and right, trying to find some kind of cover so that she could transform. The police were approaching fast, but other than them no one else was present. Throwing caution to the wind, Momoko threw her hand into the air.

A flash of fire appeared around her ring finger, and starting Momoko lowered her hand and stared at the dark red ring she wore. It gave off a great warmth, but bore little resemblance to her power ring. Taking out her compact, she saw that it was flashing continuously, as if she was receiving a distress call from Peach.

"Stranger things have happened…" She mumbled to herself. Opening her compact she ran her ring across it, shocking herself when a different phrase than usual sprang from her lips.

"Burning Blossom!" A sea of fire spewed forth from Momoko's compact and engulfed her. At first she was afraid, but soon she sighed in content when the fire embraced her and all of her pain seemed to melt away. Her clothes were instantly replaced by a black article of clothing that looked like a wetsuit, which covered every bit of skin from her neck down. Her fingers, toes, everything was wrapped in this black garment. Feeling adventurous, Momoko waved her arms, and saw that fire followed her hands wherever they went. Momoko clenched her fist and two ruby red fingerless gloves appeared on her hands. Not fully understanding where this new transformation had come from, Momoko waved her arms across her chest, causing a dark red varsity jacket to materialize. Unlike the standard Powerpuff Girls Z jackets, this one had a silver P, rather than a gold one and the stiff collar came up just enough under her chin to be comfortable. Momoko spun around the fire swirled around her like a whirlwind, causing a red pleated skirt with orange trim to adorn her waist. Momoko grinned as a pair of red, high topped shoes appeared on her feet. With her newly found energy, Burning Blossom struck a pose as her transformation had at last completed, thrusting her fist into the air triumphantly.

"Wow! I feel incredible! I've never felt this powerful before! I don't even hurt anymore!" Blossom looked over her new form with the amazement of a child at Christmas. The police finally arrived and began staking out the bank, readying themselves for anything that may come their way. Blossom held her hand out, trying to summon her yo-yo, but it did no good.

"What? I don't have my yo-yo in this form? Maybe I have a new weapon…" Attempting to summon every weapon Blossom could think of, she was put off to find that this form apparently had no weapon. "Then how am I supposed to attack?" She angrily questioned, snapping her fingers in frustration. A small flare leapt from the tips of her fingers upon snapping, causing Blossom to jump and stare at her hand. Guessing at what he new method of attack may be, Blossom grinned in satisfaction as a ball of fire sparked to life in her hand. "Wow! This is so cool! I can throw fireballs now!"

The front of the bank completely explodes and the monster walks out, holding two bags of money in its hands. Seeing the police, it grins and takes a deep breath, blowing a sheet of ice that covers the street and drives the police to seek shelter lest they become copsicles. Blossom looks up and holds out her hands, causing a sheathe of fire to surround her and protect her from the ice. She grins and steps forward getting the attention of the monster.

The monster in question, is roughly twice Blossom's size, with pale, pale white skin and very long blue spikes coming from its head and drooping down over its face and down to its hips. Its arms are sickly and weak looking as are its legs, which end in dangerous looking three-toed talons. Its face is like a humans, although his mouth is huge and his eyes sunken in. The monster sees Blossom and laughs weakly, its voice hollow.

"A little girl…should I be afraid?" Blossom grins and strikes a rather cliché pose, pointing at the monster and narrowing her eyes.

"You better be afraid monster! I'm the Magical and Fiery Heroine, Burning Blossom! And I'm gonna take you out!" The monster chuckled and took a deep breath, blowing a wave of ice at Blossom. Blossom was unfazed as she clenched her fists, causing fire to rise up around her body and melt the ice. The monster was slightly alarmed by this and dropped the sacks of money, glaring at her.

"Burning eh? I'll just have to deep freeze you, little girl." The monster stumbled towards Blossom, who held her ground bravely. The police and patrons of the bank looked on in horror, and secretly hoped that Bubbles and Buttercup would show up before the monster did any more damage. With a swift swing of his arm, the monster chucked a wave of icicles in Blossom's direction. The heroine was more than ready for this and jumped up, stomping down on two of the icicles and sending them into the ground, while projecting herself further into the air. She spun around in midair and thrust her hands out, firing multiple fireballs out that destroyed the icicles, keeping them from harming anyone.

Blossom landed and drew her fists back charging at the monster and throwing a punch at its head, her fist encased in fire with flames trailing behind her fist. The monster dodged, surprising her with its speed and lashed out, slapping Blossom in the stomach and hurtling her through the air. Blossom spun around and began flying, pink flames shooting from her shoes rather than beams of light, courtesy of her new form. Blossom drew her hand back and created a fireball in her palm.

"Cookie-Cutter Fireball!" With a fierce throw, Blossom chucked the fireball at the monster. It held its hands out, creating a shield of ice in the air that shattered upon contact with the fireball. Blossom stared in shock as the shards from the shield suddenly launched at her. Acting on instinct and an insane speed boost, Blossom dodged the initial shards and drew back both hands, focusing her firepower into them.

"Hot Fudge Firestorm!" Blossom's arms flew like pistons as she relentlessly fired off tiny fireballs into the shower of ice shards. Feeling winded from her previous attack, Blossom dropped back down to the ground and faced off with the monster.

"So why are…why are you stealing money huh? What does a monster need with money?" The monster grinned and raised a hand, causing a rift of frigid air to appear above him. The rift was about two feet in diameter, and seemed to be rapidly filling with shards of ice.

"No need, just want. Now die little girl!" The monster flung its hand downward, causing the rift to freeze into a massive, three foot icicle that shot out at Blossom like it had been fired from a gun. Blossom's hands burst into flames as she reached up and caught the icicle, slowing it to a halt as it melted in her grasp. The monster took a step back and growled, his growl becoming a grimace of horror as Blossom leapt into the air and drew her hand back, her hand engulfed in opaque flames that moved up and gathered in her palm.

"Sugarbomb Flare!" The monster screamed as Blossom chucked the fireball in its direction. The fireball began sparkling with a bright white light as it headed for the creature. Then the creature noticed something peculiar. At the roots of the white light was a black light it was all too familiar with. The monster looked up at Blossom who looked up to see if the fireball was going to hit. She too was surrounded with a white light that was thinly black the closest it got to her body. The monster's eyes widened as it finally dawned on it.

"Lord Ka…" The fireball slammed into the monster who screamed in intense pain as bit by bit its entire body began to melt, until finally the monster was completely gone. Blossom's fist shot into the air, while she danced around triumphantly.

"Yes! Yes! Yes! I beat it! I beat the monster all by myself! Let's see them take this one away from me!" At that statement she looked up as Bubbles and Buttercup landed nearby, staring in shock at the sight before them.

"Woah! I didn't think we were running that late…" Buttercup mumbled as she looked around and saw the new and improved Blossom dancing victoriously. Bubbles and Buttercup were stunned to say the least seeing Blossom's new uniform.

"Blossom?" Bubbles asked hesitantly. Blossom stopped and grinned at them, rushing up to the two and grabbing their hands.

"Did you guys see me? Please tell me you saw me! I was so cool! I completely destroyed that monster!" Buttercup and Bubbles traded a glance then stared at Blossom closely.

"Uh…maybe we should get to school and you can explain this to us…

* * *

"So you were late for school and you got a new transformation?" Kaoru questioned, a little skeptical about how Momoko just out of nowhere acquired a new form. Momoko grinned and nodded. 

"Yeah! It was amazing! I didn't have my yo-yo anymore, but I could throw fireballs! I felt more powerful than I ever was as Hyper Blossom, Burning Blossom is so much cooler!" She grinned and closed her eyes, imagining how everyone would love Burning Blossom, after all she had single handedly stopped a monster that was freezing the whole police force! Miyako put her finger to her chin thoughtfully, then smiled and opened her mouth to offer a suggestion. At that moment someone ran past Momoko, ramming into her shoulder. When Momoko didn't give, the person hit the ground hard and Momoko stumbled forward almost losing her balance.

"Woah! Who was that?" Momoko turned and saw Kuriko sitting on the ground rubbing her bottom. Kuriko stood up and continued rubbing her bottom , wincing in pain.

"Ow sis! That really hurt!" Momoko scratched her head, a bead of sweat running down the side of it.

"You should watch where you're going Kuriko," Kuriko pouted, but nodded and hurried towards home. Momoko watched her go, then turned to Miyako and Kaoru. "What? Did I do something wrong?" She questioned, noticing the look on Miyako's face.

"No, Momoko, I just thought you should have apologized for knocking her down. She is smaller than you," Momoko shrugged and fell back into step with Miyako and Kaoru. Miyako remembered what she had been about to say and clapped her hands together.

"Momoko! You should have Professor Utonium look over you, he might find a way that Kaoru and I can get new transformations!" Momoko stopped, a look of worry on her face. Kaoru and Miyako missed this, thankfully, as they realized Momoko had stopped. Momoko replaced the worried look with one of pondering then snapped her fingers, a good excuse coming to mind.

"Ah, I can't today Miyako! I just remembered, I have to baby-sit Kuriko! I better head on home, I'll see you guys tomorrow!" Momoko charged by Kaoru and Miyako, seeming a little too eager, even considering how close the two were—which Miyako and Kaoru had both reasoned from their times accidentally spent as Momoko when the girls had switched bodies thanks to Fuzzy Lumpkins. Miyako looked at Kaoru for some kind of explanation, but Kaoru shrugged and without a second thought the two began to head for Professor Utonium's Lab.

* * *

Kuriko sat on the couch alone, a little put off by the little collision at school. Still, a new episode of her favorite anime was on and she wasn't about to let something so small get her down! Kuriko didn't even hear as the door opened and closed and Momoko slipped into the living room, grinning and sneaking up on Kuriko. Kuriko screamed as Momoko dived onto the couch, then burst into furious giggles as Momoko began tickling her. After only a few moments of this, Momoko stopped and pulled Kuriko back up. 

"Momoko? What are you doin' home, sis, I thought you were going to the lab today?" Momoko shook her head and smiled as she hugged Kuriko and turned to watch TV with her.

"Nah! I decided not to go in today. Sorry about knocking you down at school Kuriko," Kuriko beamed, her previous upset feeling vanishing now that her sister was home. She hugged Momoko and turned to the TV with a huge grin.

"It's okay sis! I'll make sure I knock you down next time!" The two laughed and chattered happily while watching the show that was on, along with the next show, and the next one. Then when the anime was interrupted by a news report on Blossom's saving the bank, Momoko snatched the remote and turned the TV up. She looked down at Kuriko and grinned broadly.

"Hey look Kuriko! Blossom got a new form, she looks so cool right? And her power is awesome!" Momoko's smile wavered when Kuriko nodded, but didn't look very impressed.

"Yeah, I like this form better, but her attack names are kinda boring. I like Buttercup's better!" Kuriko leaned forward and shrugged, pointing at Blossom's hair. "And I like Bubbles' hair better, I wish they had shown up in time to fight too!" Kuriko didn't notice the look passing over Momoko's face. Carefully Momoko reached up and touched her hair, wondering what was wrong with it.

Still, she was still new at being Burning Blossom. Maybe she could get her hair cut…and she could come up with better attack names. She could even make Burning Blossom's personality cooler than Hyper Blossom's! That was the answer! She got the Burning Blossom form so she could have another chance to be a real hero! No matter what it took, she was going to show Kuriko how Blossom could be!


	3. Wednesday

_**Cast the Darkest Shadow**_

**Deus Ex Procella**

* * *

The woods along the outskirts of Tokyo City were eerily silent. A dark calm had fallen upon the city, leaving it slumbering in an almost cryogenic state. It seemed like time itself had frozen to capture this moment forever. But silence cannot last forever, and the sound of a twig snapping in the forest broke the silent chill of night. 

A dark clad figure walked confidently through the dark, frightening forest. They were small, but carried something massive along side them, signifying assuredly great strength. Their face was completely covered by a shield of darkness, hiding away their identity. There appeared to be no skip in the figure's step, no enthusiasm behind their actions, just a single-minded drive to accomplish whatever it may be they had set foot into the forest so early in the morning for.

The figure came to a halt, seeing a large pink figure stumbling through the woods, knocking away trees and marking its territory. The giant pink monster saw the figure and turned, unimpressed by such a tiny intruder.

"Who are you? Get out of here, this is my territory," The figure stared listlessly then in a flash leapt forward, their foot slamming into the monster's chest and knocking him through a tree and to the ground. The monster stood up and stumbled around, holding its chest painfully. "What in the world? How are you so strong, you little pest?" The figure didn't speak, it simply appeared in front of the monster and grabbed him by the neck and slammed him against another tree. The figure lifted up their large object, causing the monster's eyes to widen in fear.

"You…you little thing…pu-put that down! Put that down now!" The dark plate covering the figure's face pulled away revealing them to the monster and caused an even greater wave of fear to course through his body. "You…you…you're…" Before the monster could speak again the figure grinned wildly and swung the weapon at him.

The Fuzzy Lumpkin's scream rang out across the forest, as a great black light shown from the forest and slowly dissipated. When the light was gone, the scream went with it.

* * *

The day had gone by slowly—at least slowly as far as Momoko was concerned—but finally school was out and Momoko had a mission to set out on. She nervously looked around, feeling like a minor about to sneak into an adult club. Fortunately, it wasn't that serious. Unfortunately, in Momoko's eyes, it was still very serious. She stood outside the Beauty Salon with a tremble in her spine. She was about to take up the greatest adventure in her life, something she'd never accomplished before. 

'I can't believe I'm going to cut my hair…but Kuriko said she didn't like Blossom's hair, maybe if I get a haircut she'll like her better!' Momoko smiled and nodded confidently, completely unaware that at the moment a thin black aura was radiating from her body. The aura quickly hid itself while Momoko swallowed the lump in her throat and marched through the doors. The sight before her was like something out of her nightmares. Horrible fantasies of facing the Great Michel and those giant scissors of his came flooding back. While she was ready to flee, the image of Kuriko's eyes sparkling with admiration at the sight of Burning Blossom's new, much cooler haircut steeled her nerves and gave her the courage to take a seat and wait her turn to have her hair manhandled.

'Just think about making Kuriko proud…don't think about how bad this might end…do boys like girls with long hair better? Probably not…look at Miyako, she has shorter hair.' Momoko made sure to keep her eyes off of any and every mirror or reflective surface. She didn't want to see the look of terror on her face waiting to take her turn in the chair of doom.

"Next!" Momoko practically screamed when the cheery beautician informed her that her time was finally up. Momoko blushed furiously and kept her face turned down as she nervously sat down in the chair. The beautician smiled and looked Momoko over.

"My, my, your hair is really long! Have you ever had it cut before?" Momoko laughed nervously and closed her eyes as the beautician lifted her head.

"Uh…I've had my bangs trimmed by my mom but…I've never…yeah this is my first haircut," Momoko laughed nervously again. The beautician smiled and nodded, resisting the urge to laugh when Momoko leapt in her seat at the sound of the beautician's scissors snipping thin air.

"So do you have a particular idea in mind?" Momoko took a deep breath and shook her head, realizing that she'd just put the fate of her hair in the hands of this woman she didn't even know. The beautician put her fingers to her chin then snapped her fingers when an idea hit her. "Alright then cutie, I'll give you something that'll drive the boys wild!" Momoko blushed and nodded; cringing and whimpering when she felt the first clump of hair fall away. Her eyes, which were clenched tightly shut, watered but she bit her lip and decided it was too late to turn back now.

* * *

The haircut had happened, Momoko's luxurious locks had been ravaged by a woman who had frankly made Momoko increasingly uncomfortable the longer she was in that forsaken chair. Momoko ran her hand through her much shorter hair, letting it fall back into place and gulping. She only had a vague idea of what it looked like, she still refused to look at herself in the mirror. Now walking the sidewalk on her way to Professor Utonium's lab, Momoko felt a thick heaviness in her chest. What if the haircut wasn't good enough? What if Kuriko hated it? She blushed at the next thought: What if the boys who ignored her already now started saying she was hideous because of her haircut? So many painful thoughts, she would have had a mental breakdown had she not looked up and seen something horrible about to happen. 

"Hey! Look out you idiot! There's a car coming!" The boy, maybe about ten years old, who had been walking in the street looked up. Without a second thought Momoko broke into a run and tackled the little boy out of the way as the car in question sped by with flagrant disregard for either of the two children the driver could have hit. Momoko lost her breath as she hit the ground and coughed, her eyes shut painfully as she pushed herself up from laying on the boy.

"Are you okay, God what were you doing in the street you moron?" She opened her eyes and her heart stopped for a moment when she saw the boy lying beneath her. He had dark blue hair, like Kaoru's, with a large cowlick coming from the top and his long bangs fell in front of his face, covering his right eye but leaving the left—his eyes were a dark green color—clearly visible. He wore a large green jacket, dark pants and his shoes had roller skates attached to them. Momoko fell backward staring at him in terror as Butch of the Rowdyruff Boys pushed himself up onto his elbows, staring at her in shock. Slowly a thin blush spread across his cheeks.

"Y-You s-saved me…" Momoko didn't respond, afraid that if she did he would recognize her voice and attack her. Too late of course, since she'd already spoken to him twice now. Butch sat up and continued blushing as he stared at Momoko. She looked somewhat familiar, at least the pink eyes seemed familiar but the hair he couldn't place. Her hair was only shoulder length, with two long locks of hair coming from either side of her bangs and framing her face like a photo. The middle bangs had been cut shorter and had been jelled so that they stuck out and seemed to defy gravity—the side bangs had this effect as well, however they were less pronounced in their gravity defying quality than the middle bangs. Butch stumbled over words trying to think of the proper way to thank this girl for saving his life. Finally the magical words came to him.

"Wow you're really pretty," Momoko blushed furiously, completely unprepared for a compliment, much less one like this. Momoko smiled and swallowed a lump in her throat, getting to her feet and helping Butch to his.

"Uh…right…listen don't walk in the street, I won't help you next time," Butch nodded, still staring at Momoko like a love-struck puppy. Momoko blushed again and waved before walking passed Butch to hopefully head home. Unfortunately Butch didn't seem to be finished ogling her yet and started following her, falling into step behind her with a rather adorable pink blush spread across his pale face.

"Oh geez…now I've got a Rowdyruff Boy following me around…" Momoko mumbled, glancing back at Butch casually. He noticed and waved, which made a bead of sweat drip down the side of Momoko's head as she smiled sheepishly and waved back. After several blocks of this Momoko finally became uncomfortable enough to face Butch.

"Um, hey uh…why are you following me…" Butch stood up straight and grinned, scratching his head and laughing sheepishly.

"Butch! My name is Butch, Pretty Girl!" Momoko blushed again and looked down at the ground, her hands clasping behind her back nervously.

"Geez…Momoko, my name is Momoko, it's…nice to meet you? I don't know?" Butch's grin got broader, if possible, and his hand shot out to Momoko as little hearts seemed to dance around his head.

"Really nice to meet you, Ms. Momoko! Wow, you're pretty!" Momoko laughed breathlessly again as a second bead of sweat joined it's predecessor and she shook Butch's hand feebly.

"Uh…geez…um thanks I got a new haircut today," Butch flashed her two thumbs up, only seeming to make Momoko increasingly uncomfortable with his admittedly cute, though still disturbing, attraction to her.

"It looks great, Ms. Momoko!" Momoko smiled and at least had one worry cleared off her mind. If one of the Rowdyruff Boys thought her hair looked good, it couldn't be too horrible. Momoko then glanced around and realized she was late to getting home.

"Listen, Butch, I need to get home," Momoko took a step back, and cringed when Butch took a step forward. "Could you stop following me? It's really starting to creep me out, kay?" The hearts above Butch's head popped, but the blush remained as he stepped back and rubbed his head again sheepishly.

"Oh right, sorry Ms. Momoko." Momoko smiled and took another step back, thankful when Butch didn't step forward.

"Uh…right…see ya around Butch," With that Momoko turned and fled at full speed. Butch giggled and opened his eyes to watch her take off. He cocked his head, seeing a thin black aura around Momoko. His confused expression slowly spread into a smirk.

"Yeah…I'll see you later Ms. Momoko." He grinned and skated away, heading in the direction that Momoko had fled.

* * *

Buttercup dodged a thrust from the monster, growling and swinging her hammer at it. 

"Swing Sonic!" The Monster dove out of the way and flung its arm outward, the spike on its forearm stretching out and slapping Bubbles out of the air. Buttercup growled. Since they're gotten the call to fight the monster, it had been a game for the creature. The creature was only as tall as Buttercup herself, with the head of some kind of bird, and a humanoid body that was completely covered in down, save for on its forearms where it had two outward pointing spikes which it could extend and retract like whips to seemingly limitless distances. Bubbles dodged another attack and swung her wand at the monster.

"Bubble Neba-Neba!" The thick sticky goop shoot out to hopefully hold the monster in place so that Buttercup could land a hit on it, unfortunately, it was in vain. The monster flew into the air and came down swinging one of its bird-like feet at Bubbles. The blue heroine put her wand up and struggled to block each relentless attack. Buttercup dove in front when she had the chance, finding her mark and swinging her hammer.

"Megaton Dunk!" This time the hammer found its target and sent the monster into the air. Buttercup drew her hammer back and swung it again, while Bubbles swung her wand.

"Swing Sonic!"

"Bubble Champagne!" The two attacks flew and joined together, ready to smash the bird monster. The monster recovered in mid air and shot one of its spikes back, using it like a grappling hook to pull away from the attacks.

"Dammit! Where's Blossom? This would be a great time to see those new powers of hers!" Buttercup cursed, ready to take another swing at the monster.

"Firestorm!" Bubbles and Buttercup looked up gratefully when a small series of fireballs slammed into the monster and drilled it into the ground. The new Burning Blossom flew down and landed beside her teammates, who were frozen in bewilderment to see her.

"Hey girls! Sorry I'm late, I was…why are you staring at me?" Blossom self-consciously ran a hand through her hair, cringing when she figured they might not like her haircut.

"You cut your hair…" Buttercup stuttered out, pointing at Blossom with her mouth hanging agape. Blossom nodded, glancing at Bubbles who suddenly grinned and squirmed a bit in excitement.

"You look so cute Blossom! I love it!" Blossom beamed and held up V-for-Victory. Buttercup nodded and turned her attention back to the monster. At least, she focused on the monster for a few moments before turning to look at Blossom again.

"Yeah you look…wow it's just…yeah you look good," Buttercup fully focused her attention on the monster, though was clearly still unnerved by what she'd seen. Blossom nodded and took her place at the head of the three, with Bubbles and Buttercup on either side of her.

"Alright so what can this thing do?" Blossom questioned as the monster picked itself up and screeched at them. It swung both arms, causing both spikes to extend out and knocked the three to the ground. Blossom pushed herself up, growling—her growling earned her a look from both Buttercup and Bubbles—and glaring at the monster.

"Right, it can do that. I'm going to hurt him!" Blossom got up and held her hands up, placing them together and extending her first two fingers like a gun. Fire began building up at the tips of her extended fingers as a scowl fixed on her face.

"Napalm Blast!" The fire gathered at her fingers doubled in size and turned dark red before firing at the monster. The monster dodged the blast and flung its spikes at Blossom. Blossom dodged and charged at the monster while firing another Firestorm at it. Bubbles and Buttercup watched as the Napalm Blast hit the ground and exploded, creating a dome that left a crater in the middle of the street.

"What in the world? If she hits a building or something with that someone is going to get hurt!" Bubbles nodded and held her wand tighter.

"We'll help her so she doesn't hurt anyone with her new powers! Bubbles Champagne II!" Swinging her wand, the swarm of bubbles slammed into the monster as Buttercup dragged her hammer and brought it up, slamming it into the pavement.

"Graviton Drive!" The shockwave came too fast for the monster to recover and slammed it up against a building, groaning in pain. The monster got free and lashed out, doubling over when Blossom's burning fist slammed into its stomach. Another punch sent it sprawled on the ground.

"Now it's my turn, say g'night Loser!" Blossom flew into the air and gathering a fireball quickly threw it down at the monster. "Blast Burn!" The fireball glowed bright orange as it slammed into the monster, causing a pillar of fire to erupt from where it hit, completely consuming the monster in a shower of flames and smoke. Blossom landed and brushed her bangs out of her eyes, grinning at the crater left behind after her attack.

"Ha! Did you see me? I completely destroyed that ugly thing!" Buttercup and Bubbles nodded as they joined her, looking around and noting in disdain that the property damage caused by the fight had increased substantially when Blossom joined them.

"Yeah, hey listen can you be more careful with your new powers next time, Blossom? You could have hurt someone," Blossom shrugged and grinned at Buttercup, surprising both she and Bubbles.

"No I won't! And if someone gets hurt they shouldn't have been standing around gawking anyway! I'm in total control don't worry about it!" Bubbles frowned and glanced around again.

"If you say so Blossom, just please be careful, you were acting recklessly." Blossom waved off the comment and floated off the ground.

"Whatever, I need to get home! Maybe we'll be on the news by the time I get there!" With that Blossom shot off, leaving Bubbles and Buttercup behind. Bubbles leaned on her wand and looked around while Buttercup crossed her arms and shook her head.

"Yeah, you were right Bubbles, there is something wrong with Blossom. I don't know what though…" Bubbles nodded and floated into the air, Buttercup joining her a moment later.

"I'm glad that Blossom feels confident now…I just hope that new power doesn't go to her head," Buttercup nodded in agreement and after saying their goodbyes the two flew off toward their respective homes. Nearby on a roof, Butch sat up from where he had been hiding, grinning excitedly.

"Oh cool! Blossom's the one with the black aura, just like me! So Ms. Momoko and Blossom are the same person...man I have to see her again," Butch swung his legs off the edge of the building grinning in a love-struck daze, "Maybe it's the black light…she's so hardcore now, and really pretty!"

* * *

Momoko squealed as Kuriko splashed water at her face. She retaliated by blowing the bubbles back at her sister, who giggled and held her hands up to keep them from getting in her eyes. The two were sharing a bubble bath after a rather restless day. With their hair down and wet, it seemed like relative to Momoko, Kuriko's was longer, which was a little strange. 

"I really like your haircut sis, but why did you do it? I mean that's so weird, you and Blossom both getting a haircut on the same day!" Momoko splashed Kuriko and grinned, seemingly unfazed by the obvious connection.

"Well when I was out I saw Blossom getting her hair cut, so I decided to get mine cut just like hers! You like it, right?" Kuriko nodded and splashed Momoko back.

"Uh huh, it looks really cute on Blossom too! Does she seem like she was a lot tougher today? She might be tougher than Buttercup if this keeps up!" Momoko smirked and tugged on Kuriko's ankle, dunking her under the water. Laughing Momoko did her best to fend off the bubbles Kuriko promptly threw at her.

"Tougher than Buttercup huh? Do you still think she's lame?" Kuriko halted her splash attack to think about that. She shook her head, then paused and shrugged.

"I dunno, she's not as cool as Buttercup or as cute as Bubbles, but whatever's gotten into her she's not as lame as she was before!" Momoko grinned and nodded, dunking Kuriko under yet again, much to her sister's chagrin. So Kuriko thought Blossom could be tougher than Buttercup? Well she'd just have to test that theory. If Kuriko liked the tougher, more hardcore Blossom better, that was the Blossom she was going to be!


	4. Thursday

_**Cast the Darkest Shadow**_

**Deus Ex Procella**

* * *

Kakiko yawned and walked sleepily to the bathroom, loving the idea of a nice hot shower all to herself before her husband and daughters woke up. Work had been quite hectic all week and she was going to need to be as relaxed as possible before heading in because most likely she was going to be a wreck by the time she got home. Without thinking Kakiko gripped the doorknob to the bathroom and promptly walked into the door. Groaning she stumbled backward holding her nose and trying the knob again. It was locked? But who could possibly be in the bathroom this early in the morning? A moment later her question was answered as the door opened and her eldest daughter walked out, yawning and ruffling her hair. Both mother and daughter were quite shocked to see one another, the latter to the extent of nearly jumping out of her skin upon seeing her mother standing in the hallway. 

"Woah! Mom? What are you doing up?" Momoko questioned. Kakiko was more curious to hear that Momoko didn't sound tired at all. Which was strange because Momoko usually stumbled to the shower when she woke up for school…which was almost two hours from the current time.

"Momoko, it's five in the morning, I should be asking what you're doing up," Momoko shrugged and adjusted the black tank top she was wearing. Kakiko raised an eyebrow looking over her daughter's outfit. Momoko had chosen a black…slightly risqué tank top to wear to school, along with a black jean skirt. And were those spiked bracelets of all things? Kakiko shook her head and brushed passed Momoko, who was already on her way to her room.

"Don't get in trouble with those things, Momo," Momoko waved her hand, brushing away the comment and a little rudely slammed the door to her room as she went to finish getting ready.

* * *

Momoko stepped outside, glaring and covering her eyes in protest of the bright sun above. Her eyes adjusted quickly enough, allowing Momoko to speed her pace to school. She'd opted to complete her outfit with a pair of black boots that frankly would seem more likely on a biker. As she was leaving her yard and hurrying along the sidewalk to school, she groaned when she heard wheels rolling along the concrete behind her. Momoko turned around and glared at the grinning little boy who was following her. 

"Butch, I thought I told you to stop following me?" Butch shrugged and skated up next to Momoko, falling into step next to her as she rolled her eyes and continued on her way to school.

"You did Ms. Momoko, but I wanted to see you again," Momoko grinned toothily and glared at Butch, who only smirked up at her with no sign of fear in his look.

"How about this, if you don't leave me alone I'm going to throw you in front of the next car that drives by us," Butch stuck his tongue out at her in defiance.

"You wouldn't do that, Blossom," Momoko put her hands on her hips and faced Butch, giving him an incredulous glare.

"And just how did you come to that conclusion you little prick?" Butch grinned and pulled his eyelid down, blowing a raspberry in her face.

"I followed you, duh! Grow some brains Ms. Momoko," Momoko gave Butch a harsh shove, knocking him back into the street. Butch caught himself and hurried out of that way of a car speeding by. He skated back up next to Momoko, grinning and blushing while she only crossed her arms and scowled at him.

"I told you to stop following me you little creep!" Butch shrugged and continued to grin at her, driving Momoko crazy with anger.

"You didn't really expect me to listen, did you Ms. Momoko?" Momoko's scowl broke into a little smirk. That smirk wavered and Momoko snickered which caused Butch to beam with pride.

"No, I didn't nimrod, but if you like me so much you could have at least humored me," Butch put his hands behind his head, stopping as the two came to a No Crossing light. Momoko's arms remained crossed but Butch could see that she looked a lot less angry with him. If anything she seemed much more amused than she was angry.

"So do you have to keep following me? Seriously, I will push you into traffic if you don't leave me alone," Butch and Momoko walked across the street, Butch leering at Momoko with a wicked smirk on his lips. He could see the aura around her. Over half of her aura was black now. The white was slowly disappearing.

"Well we're a lot more alike than I thought…and you saved my life of course, Ms. Momoko!" Momoko shook her head and ruffled Butch's hair.

"Alright, whatever you say nimrod. Just keep it between us alright? I don't want my idiot partners finding out about you," Butch beamed happily and threw up two thumbs up to Momoko, who snickered as it began to dawn on her. Maybe this little pest could be useful…

* * *

Momoko sat in class, as the math teacher at the front droned on mindlessly over useless bull crap she'd never need in her life. She was a super heroine, she didn't need to know this crap! Momoko doodled on her paper rather than taking notes, grinning and shading in the little scene she'd drawn. The scene was of Burning Blossom posing heroically while Kuriko with little hearts in her eyes proclaimed Burning Blossom the greatest heroine to ever live. In the background were two chibi forms of Bubbles and Buttercup admitting that Blossom was a better heroine than they'd ever be. A wicked little grin spread across Momoko's face while she daydreamed. 

A movement in the corner of her eye caught Momoko's attention and snapped her fantasy. Looking up, Momoko rolled her eyes when she saw Butch sitting in a tree outside the window, waving frantically upon seeing that she'd noticed him. Momoko smiled and gave him a subtle wave in return, just to be nice. The teacher, having just asked a question, noticed Momoko's wave and misinterpreted it as teachers are wont to do.

"Yes, Ms. Akatsutsumi, you know the answer?" Momoko turned to the teacher with a skeptical expression on her face. She looked at the board and upon seeing the problem scoffed and gave him a look that asked 'what have you been smoking?'

"Yeah…I don't care," This, needless to say caught the attention of most everyone in the room. The teacher looked a little flustered as the students tried—failing in their attempt—to look at Momoko without being caught. Momoko didn't pay the teacher a second thought as she returned to doodling on her notes. The teacher blinked, debating whether or not he should tolerate her insolent behavior. In the end, he opted to avoid a confrontation, particularly when class had been going so well before.

"Um…anyway, does anyone else know the answer?" Everyone turned to face the board again, except for Miyako and Kaoru who were still looking at Momoko incredulously. Momoko ignored them entirely, now drawing a picture of Burning Blossom beating Buttercup in a fight, while Kuriko sat on the sidelines rooting for Blossom. She grinned, half wanting to make this fantasy a reality.

* * *

Lunchtime had come for Tokyo City Middle School, and an air of tension stunk up the cafeteria like a poison leaking through a radioactive waste unit. Kaoru and Miyako stared at Momoko, worry evident in both their expressions, though Momoko seemed to be completely ignoring both of them. Finally getting annoyed with the constant staring, Momoko huffed and looked up at them, her eyebrows raised and a look of sheer irritation sprayed across her features. 

"What is your problem? Take a picture for the love of God," Kaoru was miffed by Momoko's sheer rudeness while Miyako looked hurt.

"We're sorry Momoko, it's just you don't seem like yourself lately. Is something bothering you?" Momoko rolled her eyes and smiled in a condescending way a Miyako, causing her to wilt under the meanness behind it.

"No I'm perfectly okay, I absolutely love playing third wheel to you two. Shut up and leave me alone, I'm fine," Kaoru growled at Momoko, the two glaring at each other.

"Don't talk to Miyako like that, and quit being a jerk! She was just worried about you. You've been acting like a bigheaded moron since the fight at the space center," Momoko scowled and jerked her head at Miyako's direction.

"Oh sorry, I'll refer to her as Lady Miyako from now on, is that better? Lady Miyako kindly back the hell off and leave me alone!" At the Kaoru stood up and had to restrain herself to keep from reaching across the table and shaking Momoko for being downright mean to who Kaoru had thought was Momoko's best friend.

"Knock it off you crybaby! It's not Miyako's fault you didn't get invited to that stupid party!" Momoko stood up now, bristling with fury while lightning danced between the glare the two shared.

"I don't even care about that stupid party! It doesn't bother me at all if you girlfriends want to go to some stupid party without me! You can go without me and kill yourselves for all I care!" Kaoru's fists clenched and her knuckles began turning white.

"Take that back now, Momoko," Momoko sneered and stupidly leaned across the table glaring at Kaoru.

"Why don't you make me?" There was a resounding snap as Kaoru's fist shot out and hit Momoko's cheek. Miyako jumped to her feet gasping as the red head tumbled back over her seat and hit the floor with a giant red spot on the side of her face. Kaoru lowered her fist and continued snarling at Momoko while the self-proclaimed leader of their superhero team sat up and glared back, ignoring the fact that her eyes were watering and she had a trickle of blood leaking from her lips.

"Stop it you two! Don't fight!" Miyako whispered, noticing as some people began to look in their direction. It would only be a matter of time before a teacher or worse the principal noticed the two fighting. Thankfully at that moment their compacts began flashing. Momoko looked down at her belt and growled. She climbed to her feet and without a second glance at the other two left the cafeteria, assuredly heading for the roof to transform. Kaoru, her angry abating slightly began to feel a little sorry for what she had done and looked at Miyako, perhaps hoping for some sign that she'd made the right decision. Miyako only shook her head as they quickly ran out of the room and after Momoko.

* * *

By the time Bubbles and Buttercup had arrived at the scene of the fight, most of the street corner was totaled, with flames scattered everywhere. For the second time Buttercup regretted punching Momoko, since it was probably that punch which was causing Blossom to act so recklessly. They spotted the two fighting and hurried to catch up to them. Blossom screamed as the monster hit her in the stomach and knocked her back, hitting Buttercup who caught her and steadied her. 

"Oof! Get off me!" Blossom snarled, pulling away from Buttercup angrily. Buttercup glared, but noticed that Bubbles was giving her a stern look and bit back her anger.

"Listen Blossom, I'm sorry about," Blossom was gone by the time she'd opened her mouth to apologize, already throwing rather wild punches and kicks at the monster who laughed and avoided them quite easily. There was another snap as Blossom was flung across the street again and into a parked car, leaving a huge dent in the side.

"Blossom please let us help you, it doesn't look like you can beat this monster on your own!" Bubbles pleaded, rationalizing that Blossom was too angry with Buttercup to listen to a word she would say. Blossom got up and growled, clenching her fists tightly as flames erupted around her whole body.

"If you queens want to help me, stay the hell out of my way!" Blossom shot passed Buttercup and Bubbles to engage the monster yet again. Buttercup shook her head, growling and summoning her hammer as Bubbles summoned her bubble wand.

"She's not going to listen and there's no way she can beat this monster by herself," Buttercup muttered, her voice irate. Bubbles nodded, beginning to feel more angry at Blossom than sorry for the fight she and Buttercup had before. The monster wasn't a weak one, in fact it could easily be the most powerful monster they'd fought thus far—barring Kare himself. The monster was small, only standing as high as Blossom's shoulder. Perhaps that was why she was so irritated by the fact that she couldn't seem to hurt it.

The monster's skin was bright red and it had two black horns rising from its head, curled like those of a ram. It had a tiny goatee and its eyes were two burning fireballs, literally! From the waist down it was like a goat, with hairy legs and cloven hooves. It fought back Blossom's attacks with a pitchfork nearly twice the size of the monster itself. Worse still, from simply watching the fight it seemed as though the monster was completely immune to Blossom's fire attacks! She really had no chance of defeating this monster by herself.

"Alright c'mon! We'll work together and help her whether she likes it or not!" Bubbles nodded and the two flew into the fray.

"Bubble Champagne!" Hearing this Blossom dove out of the way and watched in a fury as the monster dove back, hissing and snarling at the two newcomers.

"Swing Sonic!" The blast of sonic energy rammed the monster and sent it flying backward, already doing more damage than anything Blossom had thrown at it! That wasn't acceptable! She was the hero! She was going to stop this monster, not Buttercup or Bubbles! As Buttercup charged at the monster again, Blossom flew in to intercept the assault.

"Kya! Kikiki!" The monster cried as it thrust its pitchfork out, firing a blast of dark fire at Buttercup. Buttercup brought her hammer back to knock it back, but was shoved aside by a shoulder from Blossom, who put her hands up and blocked the fireball with her own fireball.

"Napalm Blast!" A red ball of fire shot from the smoke and rammed the monster, who walked through the burning dome without flinching, grinning at Blossom's futile attempts to harm it.

"Bubble Popper!" The monster screeched when a torrent of explosive bubbles began ramming it, driving it back with deadly force. It stabbed outward with its pitchfork, causing a burst of heat to pop the rest of the bubbles. Bubbles herself grimaced as the monster set its sights on her.

"Firestorm!" A flurry of fireballs slammed into the monster relentlessly, only making it snicker as it began to charge at Bubbles. Buttercup, having recovered from Blossom's charge, leapt at the monster and swung her hammer at it.

"Megaton Dunk!" The hit sent the monster flying. Buttercup tried to charge it but was shoved to the ground by Blossom who hurled another fireball at the monster. "Dammit Blossom cut it out! You can't hurt that thing so give it a rest!" Blossom stopped and turned to Buttercup, glaring with a frenzied look in her eyes.

"Yes I can and I'm going to destroy that thing, not you!" Buttercup growled and tackled Blossom out of the air when she attempted to charge the creature again. Bubbles, realizing that those two were preoccupied decided she was the only one who could stop the little devil. The only problem…it had disappeared!

"Oh no…where did it go?" Bubbles screamed when the creature's pitchfork shot passed her head, barely missing her. "Bubble Neba-Neba!" She swung the wand and fired the sticky substance at the monster, who dodged and fired back with a black fireball.

"Bubble Champagne II!" Another swing and a powerful flurry of bubbles shot out, one stopping the fireball with ease as the rest caused the monster to scream in pain and fall to the ground. It leapt up, faster than Bubbles could react, and struck out with its pitchfork, hoping to impale her and put an end to the heroine it had deemed an actual threat. Time slowed as Bubbles felt herself shoved out of the way by Buttercup. Before the pitchfork could hit Buttercup though, Blossom stomped down on her back and jumped up, dodging the strike and thrusting both hands out while a searing orange flame erupted around her.

"Hyper Blazer!" The monster looked up in confusion, then screamed when a concentrated blast of magical fire forced it to its knees. After only a few more seconds the pain became more than the monster could bear and it found itself completely torn apart, leaving behind a pile of ashes. Blossom pumped her fist, then jumped and glared when she felt someone shove her from behind. She whipped around, snarling at a very, very angry looking Buttercup.

"What is your **problem**? I swear to God I'm going to lay you out if you do this bull shit again!" Blossom brushed this off and glared flipping Buttercup a very rude gesture, which earned her a gasp from Bubbles.

"Keep talking Buttercrap, if you want to fight I'll give you a fight!" Buttercup began to close the distance between them, fully ready to act on her promise. Bubbles came in between them, holding Buttercup back and giving Blossom a pleading look.

"Please guys! We're heroes we can't fight each other!" Buttercup headed Bubbles' words, though still glared furiously at Blossom. Blossom only repeated her earlier gesture and flew off, refusing to go to the lab for the fourth time that week. Bubbles looked worriedly after Blossom, then gave Buttercup the same look. Buttercup only sighed and shrugged before she and Bubbles decided to head back to the lab. The fights were getting longer every day, at this rate they'd have to skip school altogether for one fight!

* * *

Momoko walked down the sidewalk, counting the street lamps as she went. She had a specific destination in mind: she needed to pay some punks a visit to get a certain location out of them. She had debated on whether or not she should transform, but the sound of skates following her brought a smile to her lips and made her decide against it. If things got too hard, she'd have her little love puppy take out the jackasses. A wicked grin spread across her lips as she saw one of the groups she'd been looking for come into view. The street gang that was entering the alley ahead of her noticed the little teenager approaching them. 

"Hey Shizuka, look at this. Little poser must think she's pretty tough, eh?" The alleged leader of the gang looked up and spotted Momoko approaching them. At first he thought she may have just been unfortunate enough to cross paths with them, then he saw the grin on her face and figured that for some ungodly reason the little tramp was coming toward them specifically. Fingering the switchblade in his jacket pocket, the tall, black-haired Shizuka approached Momoko, who came to a halt just outside the alley where the rest of the gang was lurking.

"Hey cutie, what are you doing out here this late at night? There are some dangerous people out there, you might get eaten up," Shizuka was annoyed seeing the grin come across the redhead's lips. Feeling confrontational he took a step closer to her, getting more irritated when she didn't flinch back.

"Really? That wouldn't be you would it? I'm not impressed," Shizuka glared at the teenager and shoved her shoulder roughly, knocking her into the alley behind them where the rest of the gang was lurking. Momoko looked around at the gang and again debated whether transforming would be appropriate. She listened carefully and over the annoying jeers and cat calls of the gang she heard a pair of skates skid to a halt on the building to her right. Grinning she stood up straight and cocked her head at Shizuka.

"Yeah that'd be me you little bitch, and I don't like the way you're talkin' to me," As much as she loved flustering the older man, knowing that should push come to shove she'd be safe, Momoko couldn't stay out all night.

"Well then I'll stop talking to you if you tell me where I can find the Gangrene Gang," Shizuka stopped and gave Momoko an amused glare.

"Those monsters? What would a little runt like you want with them," He shoved her again, this time knocking Momoko against the building where her safety net was perched. She glared at him, wanting to badly mess him up for pushing her around. Still if she could keep her identity hidden she would do it.

"They stole something from me, and I want it back. Now where can I find them, ma'am?" That was the last straw, Shizuka snarled and brought his fist back.

"You little runt I'm gonna mess you up for that!" Momoko tried to keep from flinching back, but when his fist was inches from her face she had to snap back and clench her eyes shut. Thankfully she hadn't misplaced her trust in the little prick. Opening her eyes she saw a small ten-year-old monster holding back Shizuka's fist with relative ease. With a shove Shizuka was sent into the opposite building, and Butch turned to look at Momoko in concern.

"Ms. Momoko, are you alright? What are you doing out here by yourself?" Momoko grinned and patted Butch on the head, making the little boy blush and grin back at her. She glared at the gang and crossed her arms in a huff.

"I'm trying to find out where the Gangrene Gang is, they stole something from me and I want to get it back. But these jerks won't tell me where they are. So listen up, you little prick, why don't you help me convince them?" Butch grinned and the gang, which had been closing in on the two snapped back as Butch's black aura blazed up around him.

"You won't help Ms. Momoko? Then I'm gonna totally mess you guys up!" Momoko grinned wickedly, watching as the older men and women screamed and cried out in pain and fear. The little boy went about thrashing them with ease, showing strength that Momoko honestly hadn't believed the little runt possessed. Her own black aura radiated around her, only a third of her aura was made up by her white light at this point. The white light trembled and a bit more was replaced by black as Momoko watched Butch do her dirty work.

* * *

"Momoko! Where have you been? Do you know what time it is?" Momoko shrugged, with her backpack slung over her shoulder while she brushed passed Kakiko indifferently. 

"I was out late working on a school project. Don't worry things are fine Mom," Kakiko sighed and put her hands on her hips as Momoko began to head for the living room, after rudely kicking her shoes off in the middle of the entryway.

"Momoko go up to your room and finish your homework. Your grades have been slipping and I got a call from your teacher saying you've been," Momoko had already stopped listening and rolled her eyes, turning and heading up the stairs to her room. As she was passing by, she leaned over the banister and listened to the conversation her father and sister were having.

"My word…Blossom and Buttercup were fighting each other more than that monster today, I wonder what's up Kuriko?" Kuriko shrugged and watched the news report curled up next to her father.

"I dunno, but it's a good thing they didn't actually fight, I bet Buttercup would have beat Blossom!" Momoko stopped listening and began heading to her room, a scowl etched into her features. Buttercup? Beat her? As if! She'd just have to prove that Buttercup wasn't as great as everyone thought! She was the leader! Without her Powerpuff Girls Z wouldn't even exist! She'd put Buttercup in her place and show everyone that she was the best!


	5. Friday

_**Cast the Darkest Shadow**_

**Deus Ex Procella**

* * *

Momoko lay in bed, restlessly tossing and turning while the nigh moved on around her with no concern for her discomfort. A thin sheen of sweat streaked across her forehead, her cheeks bright red as it felt as though her body was on fire. She gripped the bed sheets, her knuckles turning white. Her breaths came in short, raspy gasps, growing shallower with every sharp intake. The paint on the walls began to peel and the sheets draped over Momoko's tensed form began to drip hot water. The humidity in the air rose to dangerous levels, the room becoming a sauna. A dark presence entered and the frame of Momoko's bed burst into flames. Momoko cringed in pain clenching her eyes shut and letting out a soft whimper. The devil, Kare, hovered over Momoko and giggled wicked when her aura began to shine; Momoko's aura now shown mostly black, with white only outlining and streaking through it. 

_Why hello there my little Momoko aren't you lovely? Look at how that beautiful black light has almost completely choked away that puny little white light! It's almost all gone now then I'll only have two heroes to deal with._

Momoko shivered, feeling cold deep in her stomach even though the temperature in the room couldn't be warmer. Kare snickered and leaned close to Momoko's face, his big nose touching hers and causing her to gasp coldly.

_Your partners want to take your little sister away from you, don't they? Ever since you became Blossom, both your identities have played second fiddle to Bubbles and Buttercup. You have to prove to everyone that you're the best. Without you, there is no Powerpuff Girls Z. Without you Bubbles and Buttercup are powerless. Without you Kuriko has no one to look up to because you are the best role model for Kuriko! Blossom is the best hero for Kuriko! Blossom is the greatest super hero in the world! Show everyone just how powerful Blossom is! Don't let them ever say that Blossom is second-rate to Buttercup! Don't let them ever say that Blossom isn't as cute as Bubbles! Show them that __**you are Powerpuff Girls Z!**_

Kare laughed and dissolved into his demon seeds, leaving the room and returning to the darkness. Momoko gasped and sat up, her chest heaving as she suddenly caught the breath she'd been holding. Momoko looked around nervously, but finding nothing out of place shrugged and wiped the light sheen of sweat from her brow. Unable to return to sleep, she opted to instead prepare for the day. It was going to be a big day; all she needed was the proper outlet. The minute Kaoru stepped out of line; she was going to prove to the world that Burning Blossom **was** Powerpuff Girls Z!

* * *

Momoko lay on the roof of the Jr. High, staring up at the clouds and willing her belt to blink so that she could beat the hell out of something. The day had been horribly dull, with absolutely nothing to interrupt the monotony. Momoko cringed when something blocked out the sun and opening her eyes she growled seeing a little face looking back at her. 

"You're in my sun you little prick," Butch grinned and plopped down next to Momoko, lying back and staring at the older girl.

"Sorry Ms. Momoko but I wanted to talk to you. It gets boring just staring at you in class all day," Momoko rolled her eyes and growled, her hand swinging out and swatting Butch upside his head, making him sit up and rub the injured area. "Yeow! That almost stung Ms. Momoko! You sure know how to throw a punch!" Momoko sneered and put her hands behind her head, closing her eyes again and lavishing in the sunlight. There was an unbearable cold sitting in her stomach since she woke up that morning, which had made it horrible trying to sit through her already useless classes. She jerked and sat up straight, glaring at the little bastard to her left as he giggled and pulled his hand back, his fingers still poised and ready to pinch her again.

"What was that for you snot-nosed little son of a…AGH, why won't you get away from me? Get lost! Quit following me you little prick!" Butch only giggled and dodged another swat from Momoko, jumping to his feet and putting his hands behind his back, leaning down and grinning with his nose inches from hers.

"Well you know how to throw a punch, but I thought since you wanted to get in a fight with Buttercup, I'd teach you how to throw a **good** punch." Momoko rolled her eyes, but caught herself before she could make a scathing remark. She raised an eyebrow and climbed to her feet, putting her hands on her hips and glaring harshly at Butch.

"…Really? You know how to fight?" Butch nodded enthusiastically, a broad and prideful grin plastered across his face. He was blushing slightly, which Momoko couldn't help admitting was cute but still annoying.

"Yeah I do! I can teach you and in one lesson you'll be able to cream Buttercup!" Momoko stared at him harshly, then smiled and held her hand out. Butch looked at it confusedly before grinning and reaching out, shaking her hand quite fiercely. Momoko cringed but tried to not show that she was uncomfortable with how hard Butch was shaking her had.

"All right, teach me and I won't beat your ass, Butch," The Rowdyruff Boy sneered and his black aura began to shine around him. He put his hands up and nodded.

"Alright, here's your first lesson!"

* * *

Powerpuff Girls Z had been called shortly after school ended; setting out to stop what Professor Utonium had said appeared to be 'the ugliest thing they'd fought yet.' Blossom stood confidently, looking down at the crater the monster had created while Buttercup and Bubbles seemed unnerved by how powerful the monster appeared to be. Blossom glanced casually across the street and noticed a middle-aged woman being assaulted by a rival gang of the group Butch had thrashed the previous night. Blossom threw another glance at the monster, which had come out of hiding and grinned. 

"Alright listen up! I'm going to go over there and stop those punks over there. You two nimrods wait right here until I get back. Don't fight the monster until I get done, got it?" Buttercup and Bubbles didn't have a chance to argue before Blossom took off, hands blazing, to cut off the street gang. Buttercup looked back at the monster and growled.

"Screw that! C'mon Bubbles!" Bubbles nodded and together the two flew off against Blossom's orders to wait for her. Blossom landed near the gang, who was without saying very shocked to see her present, particularly when they were aware of the monster attacking not two blocks away from where the were.

"Blossom? What in the world?" as the thug raised a gun to fire at her, Blossom crossed her arms and grinned at him.

"Really? A gun? That's it? C'mon I fight monsters four times your size daily jerk! You think that's really going to hurt me?" The other thugs raised similar weapons, making Blossom shake her head and continue grinning, completely unafraid in light of the weaponry set before her. Becoming irritated with Blossom's mannerism, one of the thugs pulled the trigger. Blossom's eyes narrowed and the smirk on her lips became deadly. As the bullet drew closer the lady and the gang were shocked to see Blossom's hand come up, and between two fingers she caught the bullet just centimeters from her nose.

"Too slow, dick!" Blossom's fingers burst into flames and with a sharp thrust her arm downward and sent the bullet flying back into the gun, where it promptly combusted and caused the gun to explode in the thug's hand. He grabbed his now bleeding hand, screaming in pain. There was a flash and the thug dropped to his knees, clutching his now burnt stomach as Blossom retracted her fist and kicked him over.

"Get her!" Blossom's hand came up, moving like a flash of light while the guns began firing all at once. After the thugs had run out of bullets they stood in horror seeing that Blossom unharmed and still wearing the same condescending, hateful grin she'd worn from the beginning. She slowly opened her hand, snickering as the useless bullets fell to the ground and clinked against the pavement. Blossom cracked her knuckles and grinned, approaching the gang like a vengeful angel, or a wicked devil.

"Here comes the hurting kids, don't worry I'll make it quick and extremely painful!"

* * *

"Swing Sonic II!" Buttercup swung her hammer fiercely and grinned victoriously, seeing the monster torn apart by her final, strongest attack. She landed near Bubbles and the two traded a celebratory high-five. A gasp nearby caught their attention and drew their gaze to where Blossom was quickly and angrily approaching, her fists on fire as she stopped with her face inches from Buttercup's. 

"What did you do!? I told you to wait for me! I was supposed to kill that creep!" What little patience Buttercup had managed to scrounge for Blossom's new attitude was lost in an instant, her anger erupting like a solar flare. She shoved Blossom out of her face, growling and dismissing her hammer to keep from doing something she'd regret.

"Why? Is your head that far up your ass that you have to be the center of attention every single time now? What is wrong with you?" Blossom growled and shoved Buttercup, knocking her back a few steps.

"It has nothing to do with my ego! You've had your time in the spotlight, let people see me for once!" Buttercup shoved Blossom again, this time nearly knocking her over.

"It has everything to do with your ego! The hair cut, the clothes, the attitude; all of this is just a big fat ego trip for you! You need to seriously grow up, little miss super hero! It's not surprising your sister," Buttercup didn't have a chance in the world to finish speaking. Like a sea of hatred had been unleashed, Blossom's fist smashed into Buttercup's nose and sent her crashing to the ground. Buttercup looked up, her own anger taking over her while she stared at the look of pure enmity sketched into Blossom's features.

"I'm going to rip you apart!" Blossom dove at Buttercup, who brought her legs up and kicked outward, catching Blossom in the abdomen and sending her streaking through the air.

"Stop it you two!" This time, unfortunately, Bubbles' pleas fell on deaf ears. The gate was opened and nothing was going to stop the fight that had been brewing since the beginning. Blossom caught herself and threw her hands out, flames blazing around them.

"Firestorm!" Buttercup dodged left and right, charging through the shower of fireballs making her way towards Blossom. Finally getting near enough she grabbed the redheaded heroine's ankle and threw her to the ground. Blossom swung her leg out immediately and caught Buttercup in the side of the head. Buttercup stumbled and growled wheeling on Blossom and throwing a quick series of karate chops and kicks. Blossom dodged them with astounding precision, and finding her opening caught Buttercup's fist and snapped her head to the side with a punch that frankly Buttercup hadn't been expecting. Buttercup shoved Blossom back and clenched her fists.

"Okay, when did you learn how to fight you stuck up little bitch?" Blossom raised her fists, snarling and shifting into a stance.

"When I found out I was going to beat your ass!" Blossom dove at Buttercup and the two began trading punches at a lightning fast speed, pooling on every ounce of strength they had in their Chemical Z enhanced bodies to try to take the other out. Buttercup caught Blossom's wrists and twisted them bringing Blossom's assault to a halt. Blossom gasped out, losing her breath when Buttercup brought her foot up and kicked off at Blossom's chest, knocking her through the air and to the ground. Blossom struggled to her feet then screamed and dove out of the way, while Buttercup's fist drilled into the pavement and created a rather impressive hole in the street. She pushed up onto her hand and spun around, her spinning kick catching Blossom in the face and knocking her to the ground.

"Dammit, dammit, dammit! Napalm Blast!" Blossom held her fingers out and fired off the red blast of heat at Buttercup. Summoning her hammer Buttercup gave it her mightiest swing.

"Smash Block!" To Blossom's horror Buttercup was able to stop the blast while only taking minor burn damage. The revelation of just how much stronger Buttercup was left Blossom stunned and helpless to retaliate when the green puff charged through the smoke and punched her in the gut. Blossom doubled over painfully and lost her breath a second time.

"Megaton Dunk!" Blossom recovered and leapt over the swing, bringing her feet up to Buttercup's face.

"Burning Step!" A blast of fire shot from the soles of Blossom's shoes and exploded in Buttercup's face, knocking her across the street, leaving a ditch where her feet dragged through the pavement to remain standing. She crashed into a parked car and gasped, leaving a dent in the side. As Blossom charged her again, Buttercup dropped her hammer and caught her rival's burning fists.

"That's it! I'm done playing with you!" Buttercup threw Blossom's hands down and began mercilessly pounding Blossom again and again with increasingly powerful punches. Her cheeks badly bruised, Blossom spat up blood as Buttercup's fist yet again crashed into her face. She clenched her eyes shut, and brought her hands up, pathetically attempting to guard against Buttercup's goliath strength. Buttercup grabbed Blossom's arms and took a step forward, throwing Blossom bodily to the ground.

Blossom got to her knees then doubled over, spitting up blood. Buttercup stopped in front of her breathing heavily and glaring at Blossom. Blossom stumbled to her feet and with a fist encased in flame threw a punch at Buttercup. Buttercup caught it in one hand and despite the burn undoubtedly forming in her palm slammed her fist into Blossom's mouth and knocked her limply to the ground. Blossom lay on the ground, moaning painfully before managing to for herself up on her elbows. She cringed when she felt a thick slob of spit hit her badly bruised cheek and slide down it slowly. Looking up at Buttercup with all the hatred in the world, she saw a glare just as fiery as her own staring back at her.

"Is that it? Huh Wonder Girl? Is that all you've got because I'll keep going if you think you're big enough to take me!" Buttercup screamed at her, her fists clenched so tightly Blossom could hear her knuckles popping. Blossom growled and after a painful excursion managed to climb to her feet. She promptly doubled over, her hands on her knees as she gasped for air and coughed up more blood. Buttercup put her fists down and snorted.

"Yeah that's what I thought, you're just a big windbag, you're no better than Miracle Fighting S, you stuck up loser," Bubbles, not wanting to see the fight get any more violent, ran up to them.

"Buttercup!" she gasped in horror, seeing the damage Blossom had—however justly—received via Buttercup's anger. Buttercup didn't show a hint of remorse as Blossom continued to glare breathlessly up at her.

"Yeah you heard me, you're not a hero you're just a big baby who wants to get all the glory for the accomplishments of a **team!** You aren't Powerpuff Girls Z Blossom! None of us are! We, all three of us, we are Powerpuff Girls Z!" Buttercup put a hand on her hip, still panting and catching her breath from the fight, which had been a little rougher than she'd expected.

"You two…you wouldn't even be super heroes if it wasn't for me!" Blossom barked back, caching her second wind and standing up straight, the look of pure enmity on her face capable of sinking ships and swallowing mountains. Buttercup didn't look afraid in the least. "It was my idea! It was my dream, not yours! You didn't even want to do this! Why can't anyone see that?! Powerpuff Girls Z was my idea! It was mine! I deserve a little gratitude!" Buttercup snarled and stepped forward to throw a punch at Blossom to stop her rant, but Bubbles caught her wrist. Buttercup didn't look at Bubbles, but knew that Miyako was smart enough to know that she couldn't physically stop Buttercup if she tried, and thus backed down from attacking Blossom again.

"That's a load of crap! You don't want to be a hero anymore; you just want everyone to love you! You're not a hero, you're just a selfish bitch!" Blossom narrowed her eyes, her skin heating up and the coldness in the pit of her stomach becoming unbearable. It had been bad the entire time she and Buttercup had been fighting; now it was like a black hole trying to swallow her up!

"Fine then! I quit, I don't want to work with you little worms!" Buttercup crossed her arms and snorted, spitting at Blossom again. Blossom again was too weak to dodge it and only snarled as it slid down her other cheek.

"You don't quit, I'm kicking you out. You're more dangerous to the people of the city than the monsters we fight are! Next time we're called, I'd better not see you there Blossom. Because believe me, if I do I'll trust Bubbles to handle the monster while I rip your powers out of your chest!" Blossom was…shocked was too weak a word. She'd always believed that Bubbles and Buttercup needed her to be a team; she never thought they'd ever tell her to leave. She glanced at Bubbles, who looked back at her remorsefully.

"Blossom…I think it's better if you took a break. You need to get your head together before you try fighting monsters anymore," Blossom shook her head, a very hurt and angry frown etched onto her face. Blossom looked up at Buttercup and Bubbles, her eyes watering while the coldness in her stomach tore her apart from the inside out.

"F…Fine! Fine! I don't need either of you I don't need this! I hope you both burn in Hell!" Blossom stumbled back a step then with an angry scream flew into the air and away from the scene of the fight as fast as she could. Buttercup watched her go, but blinked in confusion. She could have sworn the light surrounding Blossom looked darker. After blinking, Blossom was gone and she couldn't get a second look. She glanced at Bubbles, who looked back at her sorrowfully. Buttercup sighed and put an arm around Bubbles' shoulders, giving her a comforting squeeze before walking away to go home. Bubbles looked at all the destruction around them and shook her head, flying into the air and also heading home.

The flames created by Blossom's fire burned brightly even when the city repair began to fix the destroyed section of town. The flames suddenly grew darker and a wicked little laugh echoed through the air while the moon rose over the city.

* * *

A shadow marched through the deserted streets of Tokyo City. In their wake lay the unmoving bodies of five teenagers, all of whom had once been monsters, but now were ordinary children left beaten and bruised and at the mercy of the night. The shadow marched passed the city zoo, where a monkey laid a beaten mess in the fountain that stood at the center of the facility. The shadow stepped in a puddle, uncaring about the microscopic life forms that lay there. They too had been stripped of everything that had made them special, reverting them to their normal forms. 

The shadow stood in front of a small shop, and grinned wickedly behind their mask. Raising their arm, a massive weapon appeared in their hand. The shadow laughed wickedly and swung the weapon. The little shop was ruptured and began to collapse. A blond girl pulled herself from the rubble, staring up as the dark figure approached her. She began to scream as the figure raised their weapon and brought it down at her. The black light appeared and changed the girl's form, but her snake-haired counterpart echoed her scream when the shadow attacked again. In a matter of moments, the black light erupted and slowly faded, leaving the night more silent than death.


	6. Saturday

_**Cast the Darkest Shadow**_

**Deus Ex Procella**

* * *

Momoko growled and lay on her bed, her arms behind her head and her eyes fixed on the ceiling, locked in a fierce glare. Her mother had grounded her, though she couldn't see what the problem had been. Kakiko had gotten on Momoko's case about her bombing grades at school, and Momoko had kindly told her mother what she could do with her feelings. Honestly, it wasn't her mom's business! She was a super hero, not a scholar!

"They don't even want me to do that anymore…" Buttercup had forbidden Momoko from helping them, or she'd beat her up again. Momoko snarled and clenched her teeth harshly. She'd lost to Buttercup. That burned worse than anything else that had happened over the last week. She'd been humiliated, she'd lost her job as a super hero, and she hadn't even been invited to that stupid party! Now to top everything off, she had to admit that she couldn't beat Buttercup in a fight! She hadn't even been tired when the two had fought…Buttercup had been far more winded than Blossom had been.

"It's not right! It's not fair! I should be the best!" She moaned, putting her arm over her eyes. Momoko looked up angrily as a knock came at the door and it creaked open. Kuriko poked her head into the room, looking worriedly but flinching back when she caught her sister's glare.

"Um…Momoko?" Kuriko again flinched. Momoko's glare was absolutely painful to bear.

"What?" The sharp tone in Momoko's voice let Kuriko know readily that her sister was in a foul mood. Then again, she'd already known Momoko wouldn't be in a good mood, having spoken to their mom the way she had. But this just wasn't her sister; she'd never seen Momoko so utterly bitter.

"Uh…M-Mommy said that you could come down stairs and watch TV with me if you wanted." Momoko snorted and returned her glare to the ceiling. Kuriko was visibly hurt by this reaction; the girl across the room from her just couldn't be her sister, there was no way Momoko would blow her off like that.

"Get out of my room, brat," More proof that Momoko wasn't herself. Kuriko wanted to press the issue, but fear of alienating her sister further cut that intention off at the root. Kuriko nodded sadly and closed the door. Momoko listened carefully and when she could no longer hear Kuriko's footsteps she stood up and walked to her window. She grinned when she saw a friendly face staring back at her from the tree outside. Momoko pushed the window up and leaned over the sill, sneering at the little boy who had lowered himself fully into her vision.

"What are you doing in my tree, prick? Am I going to have to beat your ass?" Butch grinned back and waved at Momoko.

"Nice to see you too Ms. Momoko! I saw you got grounded, so I came to give you some company!" Momoko growled at Butch, leaning further out the window with her left eye twitching.

"You're still spying on me? I really am going to have to beat you, you snot-nosed little bastard!" Butch scratched his head and blushed, walking to the end of the branch he was standing on, sitting now just a foot away from Momoko.

"Sorry, Ms. Momoko, I just like to watch you! So if you can't leave your house today, I'll just sit here and keep you company!" Momoko sneered and rolled her eyes, already feeling restless and listless.

"I need some action…" A wicked grin slowly came to Momoko's lips and slyly she turned a leer on Butch, who flinched back, blushing darker red. "Hey Butch…would you happen to know where I could find some jackasses to beat on?" Butch thought for a moment, then grinned and leaned as close as he could to Momoko.

"Maybe…what's in it for me, Ms. Momoko," Momoko swung her legs over the windowsill and grabbed Butch's collar, pulling his face inches from hers. Butch's face heated up like a lamp, while his eyes shook awkwardly, staring into Momoko's dark glowing ones.

"You can come with me…you can consider it a little date. How bout it, prick?" Butch gulped nervously, grinning like a crazed idiot. His cheeks heated up more as he nervously licked his lips and became increasingly uncomfortable with the closeness between the two. He didn't understand why he was so uncomfortable…or sweaty but he knew it had to do with being close to Ms. Momoko.

"Uh…y-yeah, yeah I'll help you Ms. Momoko!" Momoko grinned and shoved Butch backward. She then stood up on the sill and with a confident jump cleared the distance to the limb. She held her hand out, causing her ring to appear and grinned at Butch, who grinned back goofily.

"Lead the way, and make it quick or I'll beat the hell out of you, prick,"

* * *

"Snapdragon Plume!" Blossom thrust her hands out, causing a burst of flame to rise from her palms and incinerate the man who had been standing in front of her. Butch snickered and watched the small group of triads back away from Blossom, who was grinning dangerously. The flames on her hands seemed darker, more deadly than anything Butch had seen before. Blossom turned away from the frightened triads and sneered at Butch.

"Hey moron, you know how to fight but do you actually have a weapon worth carrying around?" Butch snapped out of his revere and grinned up at Blossom eagerly. He held his hand out and rays of green light began shining from his palm. Butch brought his fists together and pulled them apart, causing a forest green boomerang to appear in his left hand. Butch grinned at Blossom, but his face quickly fell when he saw the droll expression on Blossom's visage.

"That's it? You trade in a sock for a little pussy boomerang?" Butch grinned and approached the triads, grinning while his black aura began to glow fiercely. Blossom watched indifferently, her eyes widening when Butch snapped his left wrist, causing the boomerang to begin glowing with a bright green light.

"Tornado Slice Boomerang!" Butch arched his back and flung the boomerang at the triads. The boomerang began to spin so fast that it became like a buzz saw and when it rammed into the lead triad, it released a surge of wind that knocked them all across the streets. Butch caught his boomerang and grinned back at Blossom, who was now grinning back just as evilly.

"Now that's what I'm talking about! Let's finish these dicks!" Blossom held her hands up and gathered a huge dark flame in her palms. She brought both hands up and threw them down grinning.

"Flare Ion Blitz!" A wall of flame shot out and painfully bowled over the recovering triads in its path. Butch rushed a few of the others, kicking one in shin and jumping up, kneeing him chin when he doubled over and then spinning around and kicking him in the temple. Before the unconscious triad even hit the ground Butch spun in midair and flung his boomerang downward, smashing it into his partner's head, and sending him sprawling across the ground like a rag doll.

"Well, we certainly cleaned them up neatly!" Blossom grinned and put an arm around Butch's shoulders, causing the little boy to blush and beam with pride. He looked up at her then turned a wicked glare at the broken gang.

"So what now Ms. Blossom?" Blossom held her hand up, chuckling as it began to burn. She led Butch away as she turned around, holding her hand up like a gun with her two extended fingers pointed at the triads.

"Napalm Blast!" Butch's eyes widened in horror when he saw the sphere of searing light slam into the ground, releasing a dome of pure heat that consumed the fallen thugs. His eyes shook and nervously he looked back at Blossom, who was grinning wildly. Her aura was showing brightly, almost completely black now. All that remained were thin strains of white light throughout the black, desperately struggling to maintain their hold on Blossom. Butch frowned as he and Blossom left the scene of the murder. Blossom was so different. This wasn't the Ms. Momoko he'd met three days ago. This was a monster! The black light was…intoxicating; it was what initially drew him to Ms. Momoko. But now it was just…choking the life out of her, turning her into some kind of wicked puppet.

"So what do you want to do now, Butch?" Butch snapped out of his thoughts and looked up at Blossom, blushing darkly when she sneered back at him. True, he did like her rough attitude. He liked nothing more than to annoy her and make her yell, or even hit him. But…oh God, forget it! Ms. Momoko had said they were going on a date! He was going to live this up no matter how bad he felt about it!

"Uh…" Butch blushed and looked down at the ground, grinning and looking up at Blossom. "Maybe…we could get something to eat? Maybe? What do teenagers do on dates?" Blossom prepared to respond then froze and stared off in confusion, cringing nervously.

'Oh shit…I've never been on a date; I don't know what people do on dates! Uh…quick! Think fast, you've got him wrapped around your little finger, he'll believe anything!' Blossom shook her head and leered at Butch, quickly formulating what she believed was a reasonable response.

"Well we can't do everything that teenagers do on dates…but I'll humor you and we can go eat somewhere. But what will your brothers think about you eating with Burning Blossom, the leader of Powerpuff Girls Z?" Butch sneered and waved his hand dismissively. He then looked bashfully back at Blossom and grinned.

"Uh…well maybe I could have lunch with Ms. Momoko?" Blossom rolled her eyes and in a flash of fire Momoko replaced her. Momoko glared at Butch and held her arms out.

"Well? Is this good enough for you?" Butch, with hearts popping above his head and little stars in his eyes, grinned wildly and nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah! C'mon I want a cheeseburger!" He grabbed Momoko's wrist and began to drag her off. Momoko cringed and glared at the little monster dragging her.

"Slow down you bastard! I'll kill you!"

* * *

Momoko and Butch sat at a rather cheap restaurant. Butch was wolfing down a cheeseburger he'd coerced from the owner—in other words he'd threatened to destroy the building if they didn't feed the two of them for free—while Blossom sucked down a strawberry milkshake. She stared out the window, knowing that in the distance, the party she hadn't been invited to was probably about to start. She instinctively tightened her grip on whatever she was holding, which happened to be her cup. It promptly exploded sending strawberry milkshake all over the table. Butch blinked and looked at Momoko in confusion.

"Ms. Momoko? Is something wrong?" Momoko nodded and turned her glare to Butch. He flinched back, actually becoming afraid of Momoko for the first time since he'd met her.

"There's a big party today that I wasn't invited to…" Butch cocked his head in confusion, trying to figure out why that should matter.

"Well…who cares? Go anyway and sock the jerk that didn't invite you!" Momoko's eyes widened and slowly a grin spread across Momoko's face, causing Butch to blush brightly.

"Why didn't I think of that? Thanks Butch…I'm going to do that," Her grin hardened into a glare, "I don't want you following me," She pounded her fist on the table and cut off any opposition he may have voiced. "I swear on your life Butch, if you follow me I'll transform in front of everyone and rip your heart out then feed it to you before I burn you to death!" Butch cringed and slid back in his seat. Previously he'd have scoffed and gone against her wishes anyway. But her aura was burning so dark, so black; he had no doubt that now she really would act on her threats. Butch nodded and nervously took another bite out of his cheeseburger, his voice lost.

"Good boy," Momoko rose from where she'd been sitting and walked over to Butch. He looked up at her nervously, fearful that she was going to strike him or even kill him. Momoko leaned forward, Butch closing his eyes and cringing back fearfully. His eyes snapped open and a heavy blush colored his pale cheeks when he felt a soft wetness on his cheek. He looked up at Momoko, who smirked as she pulled away and left the diner. Butch watched her go, his cheeseburger falling to the floor uncaringly. He felt a sharp chill in his spine, something big was about to happen and he had a feeling it was his fault.

* * *

The party was amazing—to say the least. Everyone who was anyone was dancing and enjoying themselves. There was a stage set up for various bands to perform, countless snacks, even less morally upright activities were taking place—it was debatable whether the host, Gunsho Shiamura, was aware of this. Momoko stood in shock, her jealous and anger burning furiously, seeing that she hadn't been invited to this party. How did she not make the guest list? Was she really that pathetic?

"Oh my God…please God no…" Momoko shoved her way through the crowd until she could clearly see the stage. If there was any way she could feel worse about not being invited to this party, her worst nightmare had officially come true. The band currently occupying the stage wasn't what had caught Momoko's attention. Miyako was playing piano, with Shou Matsubara—Kaoru's little brother—playing the drum set and Kaoru she playing a bass guitar. That part of the band meant nothing to Momoko, what hurt the most was the lead guitarist.

Dai Matsubara, the eldest child of the Matsubara family, was strutting his stuff across the stage. His fingers were flying across the frets of his guitar, strumming out the amazing solo to their locally famous song "_Jessica_". Momoko had admittedly always had the largest crush on Dai, which had made trading bodies with Kaoru both wonderful and incredibly painful. Now seeing him in action at a party she'd never even been considered for, her rage bubbled over and she angrily made her way through the crowd trying to find Gunsho. He was easy enough to find, seemingly the largest attraction at the party after Dai himself. Upon spotting Momoko he raised an eyebrow and approached her in annoyance.

"Momoko? What are you doing here? I don't remember inviting you," Momoko straightened the elbow length, spike covered gloves she wore, glaring at Gunsho with a look that could shatter steel.

"Yeah, about that Shiamura, I was curious about why I wasn't invited," Gunsho snorted and completely without tact shoved Momoko's shoulder, forcing her to take a step back.

"Because, Akatsutsumi, you're a loser! I wouldn't be caught dead inviting you to the biggest party of the year!" Gunsho grinned in satisfaction seeing the angry look on Momoko's face and gestured towards the stage, "Did you see? Kaoru got her brother to show up! About the only way this could be better would be if Powerpuff Girls Z showed up!" Momoko sneered and clenched her fists. Part of her badly wanted to introduce him to Burning Blossom, and show him just how pissed off she was. Unfortunately if she wanted back in the hero game she'd have to keep her temper somewhat under control.

"Oh gee, thanks for telling me to my face the day of the party you jackass! You could have at least had the balls to tell me in private. What were you afraid I'd beat your snotty ass?" Gunsho snickered and waved Momoko's harsh tone off casually.

"You beat me? I don't see that happening, loser." He sneered and flipped Momoko's hair, making her growl and glare at where he'd touched. "And what is up with your new look? You look like a bigger loser than before!" Momoko glared and cringed. The sharp, heavy cold in her stomach had become unbearable in the last twenty-four hours. She tried gulping down ungodly amounts of candy but it hadn't abated the coldness. Now that cold was making her increasingly irate, to the point where her skin was crawling like a million insects were skittering over every inch of her body. She wanted badly to lash out, to show him just how bad he'd hurt her…

"I happen to like it, you tight ass bastard. And if you touch me again I can't promise you'll walk away from your own goddamn party!" Gunsho, testing the waters, shoved Momoko again. That was all it took to snap her control. The air around Momoko seemed darker; like it was sucking away the light as her fist lashed out and sent Gunsho sprawled on the ground with a bloodied nose. Everything stopped when a few nearby teens cried out and rushed to Gunsho's age.

"I told you not to touch me!" Momoko screamed, her fists clenched so tightly she could feel her fingernails painfully pressing against her skin.

"Momoko!" A hand touched her shoulder and without thinking her fist lashed out again and came into contact with a soft surface. The haze in her vision cleared when everything went silent and she saw Miyako curled up on the ground holding her eye. Momoko growled and ducked out of the way when a fist nearly collided with her face. Her eyes shot up and she saw a very, very angry Kaoru snarling at her. Something deep inside her, that unbearable cold was taking over and Momoko nearly had to double over and hold her stomach to abate the pain. She glared at Kaoru then threw another glare at Miyako who was being tended to by several of their classmates.

Miyako, with tears streaming down her face and her left eye already showing the signs of a large black eye looked up at Momoko. The hurt in her gaze was too much for Momoko to bear and she quickly took her leave, clutching her stomach and trying to ward off the cold. Dai caught Kaoru's arm to keep her from pursuing Momoko, shaking his head and turning his sister's attention to Miyako.

* * *

Momoko doubled over the moment she fell into her room, leaving the window open carelessly behind her. She barked a harsh scream; the pain in her stomach was absolutely unbearable! The cold was spreading everywhere! The numbing pain was horrible and it was getting worse with every second. Momoko's teeth chattered, her skin grew clammy and her bodily functions began to slow. The cold was horrible! The pain was unbearable! Everything felt so wrong! She needed something to warm her!

Looking down she stared at her transformation belt, glaring at it and reasoning that it was the cause of her cold. Momoko threw it across the room without looking up, shattering her full body mirror and knocking the frame to the ground. Tears began to stream down her face and her black aura, laced with thin white lines, became visible.

"Make it stop! Someone make it go away! God help me!" Momoko heard a tiny voice; something wicked in the back of her mind.

_The white light is what's making you cold, Momoko. Get rid of the white light and the cold will go away._

"I can't!" Momoko cried, doubling over and sobbing hysterically, "If I get rid of Blossom, Kuriko will never love me the most! I'll never be her hero!" The little voice giggled and Momoko felt warmth budding in her stomach. It felt incredible and she desperately hoped it would spread to the tips of her toes and to the roots of her hair. It didn't move, and Momoko began sobbing pathetically.

_Blossom can't win Kuriko's love, Momoko. Blossom can't even beat Buttercup. But if you get rid of Blossom, you can start over! You can become a hero that Kuriko will idolize above all others._

Momoko bawled like a small child, trembling and moaning in pain. She nodded fiercely, desperately trying to do as the voice asked. Momoko screamed as a mind-numbing pain ripped through her body. Unbeknownst to her the black light began to radiate darkly, sucking away all color and sound in the room, save for a deep, low hum. Momoko glowed brightly and with a heart wrenching scream a ball of white light tore free from her body and was thrown across the room. Momoko doubled over while the black light completely consumed her.

"Darkest…" She began to giggle crazily, maniacally while the warmth spread to every inch of her body. Her toes, her fingers, the tips of her hair all felt as if they were bursting into flame. Momoko stopped laughing and clenched every muscle, feeling a thick substance rushing to every nerve ending. Her eyes closed and when they opened again, she spoke in a sarcastic, evil voice.

"Darkest Blight!" The black light around her flared up and wrapped around Momoko entirely, hardening into a solid state. It then shifted form and became a new armor for Momoko, transforming her into a new, vastly more powerful being. The room's conditions returned to normal and in the darkness of the night the new figure stood. A dark ninja-like mask covered all but her fierce pink eyes. Her hair hung free and wild, devoid of her hair bow. She wore a thick, black wet suit that covered every bit of skin from her neck down, connecting to the mask that covered the lower portion of her face. She wore a dark violet varsity jacket with a blood red "K" etched on the left breast. On her hands were black leather gauntlets whose backs were laced in spikes. On her waist she wore a violet pleated skirt, with black lace. And on her feet she wore violet elf-like shoes, whose tops ended just below her ankles.

The newly formed Powerpuff Girl Z looked at her hands and the mask slid away from her face, almost liquid-esque and living in nature. She grinned, revealing a pair of elongated fangs while the black light around her flared up completely free from any trace of the white light. She snickered and looked around her room in disdain. Giving a primal cry she went on a rampage, tearing her room apart, throwing her bed and knocking over anything and everything that would move. Satisfied and thirsting to test her newfound freedom, the new monster approached Momoko's window. With a swing of her hand she knocked the entire window out of the wall and flew off, black jets coming from her elfin shoes, into the night.

"M-Momoko? Are you alright?" Kuriko stumbled into her big sister's room and stood in absolute horror. Something had completely destroyed Momoko's room and had apparently taken Momoko with it. "Momoko! Momoko where are you? Sis? Momo? Momoko answer me!" Kuriko looked down and saw Momoko's favorite belt lying on the floor. She reached down and picked it up, looking over the white leather and inspecting the strange pink buckle. "What's up with this thin…huh?" Kuriko looked up just in time to see a white light come flying from the knocked over dresser. The light slammed into her and the belt came to life, latching itself onto Kuriko's waist while a pink ring appeared on her finger.

"Kuriko? Momoko? Oh my God, Kuriko!" Kakiko ran into the room, watching her baby girl become bathed in a beautiful light. Kakiko stared in amazement when Kuriko's voice came from the light.

"Hyper Blossom!" There was a brilliant flash and now her youngest daughter stood, fully adorned in the uniform of Hyper Blossom, the leader of Powerpuff Girls Z, complete with her magical yo-yo.

"Oh Kuriko…" Kuriko stared in horror, looking down at herself. Finding the largest shard of Momoko's mirror that remained she stared at her reflection and all of the pieces finally fell together.

* * *

"_Hey Kuriko! What do you think about Blossom? Isn't she cool?"_

_"Kuriko! Did you see Blossom today? Wasn't she awesome?"_

_"Do you like Blossom's new form? Isn't it the best?"_

* * *

Kuriko's lips began to quiver as she looked up at her mother, who approached her and knelt down to Kuriko's level.

"M-Mommy…Momoko was…Momoko was Blossom…Momoko was Hyper Blossom!" Kakiko pulled Kuriko into a tight hug, staring into the dark. Her oldest daughter, her first baby was the super heroine who had fought alongside Rolling Bubbles and Powered Buttercup to save the city. She'd fought all of those monsters; all of those nightmares and Kakiko had been completely ignorant to it! She hadn't…she hadn't raised a hand to help Momoko bear the responsibility…and now Momoko had…something had happened to Momoko and she wasn't Blossom anymore…

"Oh my God Kuriko…Kuriko…oh God, my baby…" Kuriko turned and hugged her mother tightly. If Momoko was Blossom…that explained her strange behavior. Something had happened, something horrible…now Momoko was missing…and Kuriko was the new Hyper Blossom.


	7. Sunday

_**Cast the Darkest Shadow**_

**Deus Ex Procella**

* * *

The early morning air grew deathly still, and the temperature surrounding the heavily guarded mansion of the Shirogane family felt as though it had plummeted in an instant. The shadow descended upon the building, a wicked glint in her pink eyes. Blight showed little tact or subtlety and promptly smashed in the wall, allowing her entry into the bedroom of the youngest daughter of the Shirogane's. Himeko Shirogane started and sat up, staring in horror at the dark form approaching her. 

"W-What the? Who are you? How did you get," Himeko was cut off when Blight grabbed her throat painfully and lifted her from the ground. Sapphire, sprung awake by the commotion hissed at the newcomer, who only grinned and lifted her up by her tail. Blight snickered and her mask pulled away allowing Himeko to see her face.

"B…Blossom? Why are…what are you doing!?" Blight sneered and the dark lights within Himeko and Sapphire flared to life. Blight forcefully slammed Himeko up against her bedroom wall and her own black aura began to glow bright.

"Blossom isn't home right now, I'm here to take her messages," Himeko wanted to voice her confusion, but this incentive was promptly cut off by a scream erupting from deep in her stomach. Sapphire too began screeching and thrashing around. A black object appeared and the lights from Himeko and Sapphire began to flow into it, until with a fierce tug they ripped free from their bodies. Blight dropped the now unconscious duo and pulled the black object from the ground. Instantly a flood of power overwhelmed her and her dark light grew darker still.

"That's all of the original black lights…now I only have to get those little boys! Then I'll be unstoppable!" Blight swung the object, which was easily twice her size, causing it to dematerialize and return to whatever hammer space it had been stored within previous. Without concern for remaining unseen, Blight took off into the air and blasted from the roof of the mansion. Her first mission was complete, now she only had to destroy Powerpuff Girls Z!

* * *

Ken Kitazawa approached the main doorway of the Tokyo City Research Facility. Needless to say he was a little concerned listening to the vigorous pounding at the door. Nervously watching the door slide open, he looked up to see a very irate mother staring back at him, righteous fury blazing in her orange eyes. Ken laughed nervously and swallowed the lump in his throat. 

"Hello Mrs. Ak…Bloss…Kuriko!?" Ken noticed Mrs. Akatsutsumi's companion, who was clearly his one-time classmate Kuriko wearing a perfect, smaller replica of Hyper Blossom's outfit. Blossom laughed and stared back at Ken, scratching her head nervously.

"Where is your father?! Take me to him right this minute!" Ken glanced at Blossom, who only looked back at him hopefully. Nodding sheepishly, Ken stiffly led the two into the lab. He looked at Blossom and couldn't help staring, trying to understand how Kuriko could have obtained a uniform like Blossom's. Feeling Mrs. Akatsutsumi's glare on his back, Ken faced forward blushing furiously and opened the door to the main lab, where Professor Utonium had just finished getting ready for the day's work.

"Oh Ken you're back just in…Hello Mrs. Ak," Professor Utonium froze in place, a wave of fear paralyzing him when Kakiko angrily marched up to him and glared at him with an unbridled fury that only a mother could have.

"Who do you think you are?! How dare you not tell me that Momoko was Hyper Blossom?" Professor Utonium's face fell further, but his fear was replaced by curiosity when he saw Momoko's younger sister wearing Momoko's Hyper Blossom uniform.

"Mrs. Akatsutsumi, why is your other daughter," He leapt and raised his hands defensively when Kakiko jabbed him in the chest with her pointer finger and cut him off.

"Don't change the subject! How could you do something like this? Do you know how bad I feel now? My daughter has been risking her life day in and day out and I didn't know!" Professor Utonium backed away nervously, completely wilted under Kakiko's glare. Blossom ran to her mother's side and grabbed Kakiko's hand before she could pursue the terrified scientist. Kakiko responded instinctively and tightly held Blossom's hand, looking down at her daughter.

"Mommy, maybe you should give Ken and Professor Utonium a chance to explain everything?" Kakiko nodded and turned to Professor Utonium. He looked at Blossom gratefully and prepared to explain when things only complicated further by the door opening and Kaoru and Miyako walking in.

"Professor! Did you see the news? Someone attacked the Shirogane place!" Kaoru ran up to Professor Utonium, completely unaware of Kakiko and Blossom's shocked expressions. Miyako ran up next to her, a very worried look etched across her face.

"Himeko Shirogane was attacked…when the police asked who did it she said the person looked like Blossom," Professor Utonium was shocked, but once again his response was cut short.

"What?! My big sister would never do something like that!" Kaoru and Miyako turned and finally noticed Mrs. Akatsutsumi and…a younger Hyper Blossom?

"What in…what's going on?" Kaoru stuttered out, finding her voice after a period of silence. Kakiko turned to glare at Professor Utonium once more.

"That's just what Professor Utonium was about to explain!" The weary Kitazawa sighed and scratched his head, looking to Ken for some reassurance. Needless to say the little boy was just as horrified by this turn of events as he was. Professor Utonium crossed his arms and turned away, walking across the lab floor in deep contemplation.

"Perhaps…everyone should find a seat. I have a feeling this is going to take a while…"

* * *

Butch watched Ms. Momoko from the distance, like he always did. He had watched her lose her white light, he'd watched her become the monster she was now, and he had watched her attack that big fancy mansion. Ms. Momoko had become a horrible nightmare, she'd made him nervous the previous day but now she had him terrified. He was completely frightened of Ms. Momoko now…no not of Ms. Momoko. 

Ms. Momoko was a wonderful person; she was an amazing person. Of course the black light had been warping her mind. The black light had poisoned her and turned her into a puppet for its own sadistic use. That light was ruining her, it was turning her into something she wasn't! He couldn't stand it; he couldn't stand seeing her so twisted and warped…he wanted to meet the real Ms. Momoko. The Ms. Momoko who wasn't some monster's plaything.

Butch continued to sneak behind Blight, following her even in broad daylight. For all he knew, she wasn't aware of his presence in the least, but he had his suspicions that she was onto him. After all even when he didn't want Ms. Momoko to notice his presence, she always somehow found out that he was tailing her. That and she had only forbidden him from following her to the party. He had never agreed to stop following her all together. His fears were confirmed when Blight suddenly touched down atop a clock tower and turned around, looking at him directly

"Okay runt, come on out and let's play," Butch gulped down the fear in his throat and came out of hiding, landing a few feet away from Blight who had her arms crossed and was smirking at him arrogantly. She shook her head and sighed, her black aura erupting around her. Butch, defensively, radiated his aura. Blight sneered.

"Don't make me laugh, runt. I'm not afraid of you or your wimpy little aura." Butch flinched back and raised his hands cringing in fear. Blight shook her head arrogantly and began walking towards the very nervous little boy. Blight grinned and continued to approach him. "That's right, just try to fight back. I'll finally give you that ass whooping I've been promising since we met!" Blight charged at Butch, who yelped and jumped back. Blight dodged a punch he reflexively threw at her and grabbed his wrist. In an astounding show of strength, she lifted him easily off the ground and slammed him against the clock tower, smashing a hole in the ceiling. With another throw Butch was flung bodily into the air.

Butch regained his balance and spun around, catching a flying uppercut from Blight. The dark puff grinned and jerked her fist out of his grip, throwing a furious barrage of punches at his face. Butch dodged them, sweating upon realizing that Blight was much faster than Ms. Blossom had been. Ms. Blossom had learned quickly how to fight, and she'd gotten quite good. Blight; however, fought clearly with the style he'd taught Ms. Momoko, but with such a ferocity and speed that it seemed demonic in nature. She fought like some kind of hellish soldier, bent on tearing him limb from limb.

"C'mon Butchie! Fight back you little bastard! Show me how tough you really are!" Blight brought her fists up above her and brought them down at Butch's head. He caught them, struggling with both hands to hold back Blight's attack. Unfortunately he didn't notice until too late when he knee came up and rammed into his gut. Butch doubled over, holding his stomach. Blight only grinned and shook her head as she promptly repeated the previous attack and sent Butch crashing down into the clock tower. Blight spun around and blasted off after him, her black jets leaving behind a trail that greatly resembled a scar in the sky.

"Oof! Oh God…that really hurt…" Butch pushed himself to his knees, having crashed into a gear larger than he was. He rose to his feet and looked around dizzily, trying to find some sign of Blight. That sign came and nearly made him wet himself in fear. Blight stood back-to-back with Butch, her arms crossed and a goblin grin pasted on her lips.

"Hey not bad, runt. You recovered pretty fast." Blight snickered and Butch nervously choked down a fearful lump. His hands shook terribly and sheen of sweat streaked his face. Blight grinned and glanced back at Butch, her eyes narrowing. "Are you ready for round two?" Butch leapt into the air, dodging a spinning trip Blight aimed at him. Blight came up with another uppercut, but Butch caught it and finally managed to come off the defensive, throwing a kick at Blight's head. Blight was pleasantly surprised to see Butch returning fire. She leapt back, landing on a second large gear completely indifferent to it moving beneath her.

"About time punk! I thought you were never going to fight back!" Butch's black aura shone brightly, and his fear replaced itself with rage. He charged Blight and threw a rapid-fire barrage of punches at her face. Blight dodged the punches and countered with a rapid blast of kicks, which Butch blocked and parried quite professionally. The two walked back and forth, moving like an expertly choreographed dance across the moving gears of the giant clock. Blight threw a fast punch at Butch, who dodged and leapt back, stumbling when his feet hit something unmoving. Looking down he saw that he had stepped onto a catwalk high above the floor below. He screamed when a fist whizzed by his head and nearly took him out. Butch responded by summoning his boomerang, slicing it across Blight's stomach.

"Oooh you're getting serious now, huh? That's right! Bring it runt! I want all of it!" Butch growled and his boomerang began to glow bright green, growing until it had grown to be almost the same size as Blight herself. Blight's grin never faltered even under these circumstances; however, if anything it only became more predatory. Butch growled and drew his arm back fiercely.

"Let go of Ms. Momoko, you bitch! Hypersonic Shockrang!" The boomerang ripped through the catwalk as Butch threw it at Blight. Her eyes narrowed when she found just how fast the boomerang was moving. A sonic boom rocked the tower as the boomerang warped into a stream of pure energy. Blight raised her hands and caught the edges of the rang, being driven back relentlessly against the unbelievable force of the attack. Butch watched nervously, praying that his strongest attack would have some effect on the monster. Blight crashed through the guarding rail at the edge of the catwalk, but her toes stopped at the very end, the jets beneath her feet activating and pushing back. Blight grinned and Butch watched in horror as the dark puff pulled the boomerang back and threw it forward, slamming into Butch and sending him flying over the edge of the catwalk.

"Here I come! I'm gonna end you sucker!" Blight shot through the air as the catwalk collapsed beneath her. She met Butch in midair and began to unleash a demonic assault on his entire body, which Butch was helpless to defend himself against.

* * *

Blossom lay against her mother's side, the two sitting on the couch and listening to the end of Professor Utonium's explanation. They both now knew that Miyako and Kaoru were Rolling Bubbles and Powered Buttercup respectively. Both were also incredibly worried, seeing that Momoko had lost her powers, which now resided in Kuriko. 

"You mean…you've been fighting a creature who is for all extensive purposes the devil?" Kakiko asked, a dangerous edge to her voice. Professor Utonium nodded, and turned to them with his gaze focused on Kuriko.

"I don't understand though…how did Momoko lose her powers? Somehow the white light left her body and entered the closest thing it could find to Momoko, which at the time happened to be you Kuriko," He put his hand to his chin and sighed. "Had you entered first, Mrs. Akatsutsumi, it is arguable that you would have become Hyper Blossom," Kakiko nodded and tightened her embrace on Blossom, who reacted appreciatively.

"Momoko was attacked by something…" Blossom began, catching everyone's attention, "I went into her room because I heard her screaming and some fighting. Then I saw her room was a wreck and she had lost her belt. Then this white thing jumped out of nowhere and hit me and when I could see again I knew Momoko was Blossom…" Kaoru crossed her arms and looked away ashamedly. Miyako put a hand on Kaoru's shoulder, but flinched back when Kaoru reacted so coldly.

"Momoko was attacked…dammit! We shouldn't have been fighting! But she's been such a…such a bitch!" Every eye fell on Kaoru, hearing her outburst. Blossom looked down, feeling the same heavy feeling in her chest that had been present ever since Momoko had begun acting weird.

"Momoko has been acting strangely…yesterday I had grounded her but," Kakiko began but didn't finish seeing Blossom's state. She sighed and hugged Blossom tightly, the little girl's eyes watering thinking about what might have happened to her older sister. Miyako looked at the two empathetically, sighing sorrowfully and trying to think of some kind of explanation for Momoko's disappearance. An image from the previous night flashed in her mind, her hand instinctively coming up to her swollen black eye.

"Last night at the party…" Miyako whispered. Kaoru looked up, raising an eyebrow.

"What about the party? You think someone from the party kidnapped Momoko?" Miyako shook her head and walked over, kneeling down in front of Blossom. The little girl looked up nervously, flinching at the sight of the older girl's injured eye. Miyako's eyes widened when she saw the white aura become visible around Blossom.

"The light…I know I saw it last night…" Miyako whispered, watching as Blossom's aura disappeared once more. Blossom and Kakiko both looked hopefully at Miyako, while Professor Utonium, Ken, and Kaoru neared the other three in interest.

"What about a light, Miyako?" Ken asked, staring at Blossom but not seeing the light Miyako had mentioned. Miyako continued to kneel down at Blossom's eye level as everything fell into place, and a horrible revelation fell over her.

"Oh my God…Momoko is in more trouble than we thought." Every eye widened, "Last night, when she punched me, I could see," Miyako didn't finish when Peach suddenly ran into the room, panting and barking wildly.

"Wan! Wan! A monster is in the city! Wan! Powerpuff Girls Z need to transform now, the monster is really powerful!" Miyako stood up, her eyes trembling.

"Where is it Peach? Where is the monster!?" The tone of Miyako's voice was so uncharacteristic, so unnatural that Peach was frozen for a few moments. Clearing his computerized head he barked in response.

"I don't know but it's in the city wan! You have to hurry wan!" Miyako nodded and her eyes still wide, she stumbled back and grabbed her compact.

"Kaoru transform…" she whispered. Kaoru nodded and pulled out her compact, calling on her power ring.

"Rolling Bubbles!"

"Powered Buttercup!" There were twin flashes of light and in an instant; Miyako and Kaoru were replaced by Bubbles and Buttercup. Bubbles reached out to Blossom, who looked up in confusion.

"Kuriko, we need your help. We need you to be our Blossom," Kakiko tightened her hold on Blossom's shoulders and shook her head.

"Kuriko is too young for that kind of danger!" Bubbles looked at Kakiko with a desperate expression, kneeling down and grabbing Mrs. Akatsutsumi's hands.

"Please! Mrs. Akatsutsumi, we need Blossom to save Momoko!" Kakiko's mouth fell open. She looked at Blossom who, though appeared terrified, quickly rose upon hearing mention of her big sister.

"I'll do it! I'll do anything to help find Momoko!" Kakiko's face softened.

"Kuriko…it's too dangerous," Blossom shook her head and gave her mother a kiss on the cheek while taking up her yo-yo and backing away.

"I have to Mommy! If I can help Momoko I have to go with Bubbles and Buttercup!" Kakiko nodded, realizing the hopelessness of the situation, particularly enhanced by Bubbles' desperate disposition.

"Be careful please…I can't lose you too Kuriko…" Blossom nodded and she and Buttercup turned to Bubbles. Bubbles gave Mrs. Akatsutsumi a reassuring glance, holding her hands tightly.

"Don't worry Mrs. Akatsutsumi, we'll bring Momoko and Kuriko home safely," Kakiko nodded and watched helplessly as the three girls ran off to face God only knows what. Professor Utonium gave her a comforting look.

"Don't worry ma'am…they're the best at what they do," He silently cringed and looked at the monitor now showing the three flying into the city, 'Even if what they do isn't very safe,' he thought wistfully.

* * *

Powerpuff Girls Z landed in front of the clock tower, where the sight of a massive black light had drawn them. Kare seemed the only logical explanation for such a powerful black light. Buttercups walked forward, taking the lead and glancing back at her teammates nervously. 

"This looks like it's going to get messy…definitely not a good place for Kuriko to start playing hero." Blossom glared at Buttercup who smiled apologetically and led them into the building. The place seemed quiet, far too quiet for comfort. There were a few scuffs here and there, along with what appeared to be the remains of a catwalk. Something had gone down, but it didn't seem to have taken a huge toll on the facility.

"Strange…I can't feel anything here," Bubbles whispered, holding her wand tightly. Blossom nodded and looked up, slowly degenerating into a terror stricken whimper. Buttercup looked at Blossom worriedly then followed her gaze. Buttercup's eyes widened and her mouth fell open. Bubbles joined them in staring in shock at the figure standing on the lowest catwalk above them.

"Why hello there Bubbles! Buttercup! So glad to see you cared enough to find me!" Blight swung over the railing and landed in front of the two, walking into the light and retracting the ninja-mask from her face.

"Oh my God…Momoko," Buttercup and Blossom stared disbelievingly at the figure approaching them. Bubbles was right, it really was Momoko but now she'd changed far more drastically than before.

"Momoko? Sis! What happened to you?!" Blight froze in her tracks and stared at Blossom. The look on her face was at first surprise, but then it slowly fell into unbridled fury.

"Kuriko…you've already replaced me! You already found a new Blossom? You already replaced me?! You think you can do your job without me?!" Blight began to snarl and her black aura radiated wildly around her, kicking up dust from the floor and releasing a fierce wind that forced the heroines to brace themselves against its force.

"Momoko! We haven't replaced you! Somehow you forced the white light out of your body and it went to Kuriko thinking she was you!" Bubbles pleaded with the monster, trying to snap her out of her jealous fury. Blight sneered and shook her head, laughing bitterly.

"I don't doubt it! But to think you'd bring her along! She has a hard enough time sleeping in her own bed! You think she can beat me?!" Buttercup growled and clenched her fists.

"Don't do this Momoko, we don't want to hurt you," Blight looked up at Buttercup with a venomous glare. Slowly a grin spread over her lips.

"Don't want to hurt me? Didn't you say if you saw me transform again you'd beat me down?" Blight spread her arms and grinned beckoning Buttercup to attack. "Well c'mon Butterbitch, I'm waiting for my beating," Buttercup's fists clenched, and her eyes narrowed.

"Don't make me do this Momoko," Blight grinned brightly and brought her fists up in a mocking fashion.

"Oh goody! So I'll go first!" Buttercup began to bring her fists up then stopped and gasped. Blossom and Bubbles watched in horror as Buttercup fell to the ground and curled up tightly, holding her stomach and rolling around in pain. Blight pulled her fist back and blew on it, sneering at Buttercup. "Oops, too fast? Come on Wonder Girl! Show me those muscles!" Buttercup stumbled to her feet, snarling at Blight.

"Okay I lied, I really wanted to do this!" Buttercup swung at Blight, who moved her head and easily avoided the sloppy attack. The following attack was far more professional, nearly taking Blight's head off. Blight stood up straight and brushed her shoulders off, snorting at Buttercup's attempts to take her out.

"You're swinging way too hard, you're gonna wear yourself out Butterbitch. Didn't you ever see Rocky III?" Buttercup snarled and charged Blight, who jumped back and began to dance easily with Buttercup. She dodged and ducked, parried and blocked, managing to avoid every attack Buttercup threw her way. Blight grabbed Buttercup's fist, the blue-haired girl's eyes narrowing dangerously. Her arm began to tremble, but Blight's remained steady as she held off the strike.

"I'm going to make sure you don't get up this time!" Buttercup swung her other fist. Blight ducked the attack and jumped back, then leapt up to the catwalk, beckoning Buttercup to follow. Running on adrenaline and rage, Buttercup flew up to Blight and the two began their deadly waltz yet again. Blight knocked away Buttercup's relentless attacks with the same arrogant smirk plastered on her lips. Buttercup jumped just slightly, bringing her fists up and bringing them down at Blight's head. Blight took this opportunity and ducked just enough to avoid the swing, then threw a powerful punch at Buttercup's midsection, knocking her to the other side of the tower, where she landed painfully on the catwalk.

"Oooh, super powerful Buttercup can't even beat wimpy little Momoko! Oh wait! I'm not Momoko!" Blight tensed up and her dark aura erupted, making the entire tower begin to shake, "I'm the dark side of Momoko! I'm your worst nightmare! I'm the Darkest Blight!" Blight dodged Buttercup's charge back into the fray and jumped up to the next catwalk. When Buttercup followed she grabbed her by the shoulders and rammed her head against the guardrail. Buttercup recovered and leapt onto the catwalk, throwing a flurry of punches at Blight, who leapt away and stuck her tongue out. Buttercup snarled and dove at Blight with a jump kick. This only succeeded in allowing Blight to step to the side and knock her to the ground with an overhead smash.

Blight leapt up another story and wagged a finger at Buttercup, who was red with rage. She mindlessly followed Blight, who leapt up another story further infuriating Buttercup.

"Hey Butterball, you wanna know what I've always wanted to do?" Blight held her hands out causing black and green light to begin gathering in her palms. She pulled them back to her side, holding the ball of light which began shining brightly. Blossom promptly recognized the tactic and took off to catch Buttercup to keep her from charging Blight again.

"Wait! Don't Buttercup!" Bubbles reached out to stop Blossom, but missed and was forced to chase after her.

"Blossom wait! It's dangerous!" Bubbles and Blossom flew at Buttercup who leapt into the air and drew her fist back to punch Blight. The dark puff grinned wickedly at the delicious situation.

"This is so cliché but I have to do it!" Buttercup's eyes widened when she saw the energy gathered in Blight's hands, "Kamehameha!" Blight thrust her hands out, heels of her hands together and her palms wildly opened. At that moment Bubbles and Blossom caught up to Buttercup and tried to pull her away. All three froze seeing that massive beam of green and black light erupt from Blight's hands and slam into them, shooting them through the wall and leaving behind a massive hole. Anyone who had been in the street screamed and scattered as the three heroines crashed into the pavement. A crowd began to form around the fallen team, most of them screaming when the dark puff landed and began to walk through the gap that formed in the crowd.

"I told you! You little bitches can't even touch me! You can't replace me with that little runt either! I'm the real Blossom! I'm the best Blossom! And now, I'm even better than I was as Blossom!" Buttercup was the first to her feet, despite having taken the most damage. She pulled Bubbles and Blossom up and glared at Blight. The crowd scattered when the dark puff beckoned Buttercup to continue their fight. Buttercup charged, summoning her hammer and preparing to hopefully finish the fight before it became too out of hand.

"So predictable," Blight held a hand up as Buttercup got near. Time bent and slowed for the green puff, who stared at a ball of green and black light shining brightly right in her face. There was a brilliant flash and Buttercup was thrown bodily through the air, crashing into the rundown shack where Mojo had once made his residence. It promptly collapsed, assuredly sealing the green puff within. Bubbles stared in horror, turning to Blight with a pleading stare.

"Please, Blight stop this! We'll get Professor Utonium to turn you back to normal!" Blight shook her head as she approached the two remaining puffs, grinning wickedly.

"Now it's me and you Bubbles. I'm gonna ruin that pretty face so good no one will ever say it's prettier than mine!" Bubbles took a step back, holding her wand up nervously. Blossom, both in fear and in an effort to help her sister, pulled her yo-yo back and tried to figure out how her powers worked.

"Super Light Shoot!" Blossom flung the pink glowing yo-yo at Blight, who without looking up raised her arm and stopped walking, letting the yo-yo wrap around her forearm. She grabbed the string and jerked it, tugging Blossom screaming off her feet. She then swung her arm and threw Blossom into a parked car, knocking her to the ground writhing in pain.

"Stay out of this you pathetic little runt! This doesn't concern you!" Blight turned back to Bubbles grinning, "Where were we Gorgeous? Oh right! I was about to change that!" Bubbles dodged Blight's initial charge and swung her wand.

"Bubble Champagne II!" The magical bubbles flew at Blight who swung one arm around, poking every bubble that came her way, popping each and every one without a hint of effort etched on her face. Bubbles screamed and dodged a swing at her head, then rolled out of the way when Blight threw a kick upward. Blight spun around and flung a ball of green-black energy at Bubbles, who again rolled out of the way and swung her wand at her.

"Bubble Popper!" Blight's jets activated and her entire body flashed. Bubbles screamed and lost her breath when Blight appeared right in front of her and punched her in the gut. Bubbles stumbled backward, a drip of spittle leaking down her lips. Blight grinned and grabbed her wand, trying to wrench it from Bubbles' hands.

"Let GO!" Blight kicked Bubbles in the chest, freeing the wand from her grasp and knocking her to the pavement, "You think that shiner I gave you is humiliating, wait until I completely tear your face apart!" Bubbles jumped to her feet, her head snapping to the side. Blight slammed the end of the bubble wand into her chin yet again, jerking her head to the other side. She then rammed it into her gut and made Bubbles double over out of breath. Blight kicked Bubbles in the chin and then slammed the wand down on her face, knocking her onto the ground.

"Yeah! I like this! C'mon Bubbles! Fight me! Fight back!" Bubbles held her bleeding nose, and tried to climb to her feet. Blight kicked her in the side and knocked her back on the ground. Blight grabbed Bubbles' hair and jerked her to her feet. Bubbles had tears streaming down her face and a small fountain of blood streaming from her nose. She cried out helplessly when Blight smashed the wand into her mouth and knocked her back. Before Bubbles fell, Blight grabbed her wrist and jerked her up. As Bubbles was rising she head-butted her ruthlessly, further injuring her already broken nose. Bubbles collapsed on the ground, blood coating her once pretty face. Blight through the wand away and held up a hand that began to burn with bright green-black light.

"Oh don't worry…I'll cauterize those face cuts for you!" Bubbles gasped in pain and crawled away as quickly as her weakened body could. Blight only grinned wickedly, completely ignorant to the sound of an explosion nearby.

"Swing Sonic II!" Blight froze and looked up in shock. The blast of sonic energy rammed into her and sent her flying across the street. Spinning wildly through the air, her side hit a fire hydrant and ripped it from the ground. She hit the pavement and held her side painfully. Blight climbed to her feet, wincing from a sharp pain in her side, and saw Buttercup standing across from her. The green puff was badly injured, covering in cuts and bruises, but still held up her giant hammer defiantly. Blight looked at the hammer then began to laugh crazily.

"Butterbitch and her big ass weapon. Are you compensating for something? You know like a gross lack of any attractive qualities?" Buttercup glared back and brought her hammer up to strike again. Blight held her left hand out to the side, causing a surge of an unbelievable amount of black light to begin gathering into her open palm. She clenched her fist shut and the black light exploded, creating a weapon that made Buttercup's hammer to droop and her mouth to fall open fearfully. The weapon was a sword, a massive mountain of a sword that was twice the size of Blight herself. She held onto its black hilt, which had a long curved edge that led into the massive black blade that would dwarf the largest buster sword. Blight swung the sword and set it on her shoulders easily, grinning at the very, very nervous looking Buttercup.

"You wanna play this game, bitch?" Buttercup gulped and yelped when Blight charged her, bringing the sword up and swinging it with incredible strength. Buttercup blocked the swing with her hammer and groaned in pain as her aching muscles and joints struggled to resist giving into the weight and pressure of the blade. Blight grinned and gestured toward her grip on the sword. Buttercup audibly gasped seeing that all of that pressure was coming from just one hand. Blight was only wielding the sword with one hand!

"M-Mega…Megaton Dunk!" Buttercup rolled away from the slash and swung at Blight. She was amazed to see that she hit the dark puff in the side, knocking her painfully through the air. Blight crashed and growled as she rose.

"Devil Sift!" Blight swung the sword and sent a crescent blade of black energy slicing through the air at Buttercup. The heroine slid under the attack, the shockwave of which cut into Buttercup's badly bruised skin. Buttercup rose and swung her hammer downward.

"Graviton Drive!" The shockwave rammed into Blight's upraised sword. Blight held it off and swung her sword, slicing through it and sending another blade of energy at Buttercup, who dove out of the way and charged at Blight, swing it again.

"Megaton Dunk!" The hit smashed into Blights forehead and knocked her to the ground. Blight growled and threw her hands up. A giant ball of energy gathered in her hands and angrily she began to pump her arms like pistons, sending countless blasts of energy at Buttercup.

"Oh shit Smash Block!" Buttercup swung her hammer and created an invisible shield of energy that held off the continuous stream of blasts. Slowly it began to wear on her, tearing into her muscles and using up the last of her adrenaline. Buttercup screamed and her hammer was flung from her hands. The blasts rammed Buttercup relentlessly, until she dropped and lay unconscious on the ground. Blight snarled and began to laugh wildly. Admittedly, Buttercup's attacks had done quite a number on her. Powerful as she was, she was overexerting herself and using up her energy much faster than she would have if she had just used enough power to beat the heroines. But she didn't want to just beat them she wanted to humiliate them! She wanted to ruin them beyond repair! Now no one would ever say Buttercup was tougher! No one would ever say Bubbles was prettier! Blight was the most powerful! She was the best! Blight laughed and dismissed her sword. A mistake as she looked up hearing a very young voice cry out.

"Bright Shining Spin!" Blight screamed when the yo-yo slammed into her stomach. The energy coursing through this weapon hurt like nothing Buttercup had thrown at her. This burned! It burned like the light of Heaven itself! She was flung through the air, crashing into a building behind her painfully. Snarling Blight rose and saw Blossom staring back with false courage, the fear in her eyes clear as the sun beginning it's trek toward the western horizon.

"Little sister…you just made the biggest mistake of your life!" Blossom screamed when Blight cleared the distance between them, punching her in the face and sending her crashing into a fitness center. "I'm going to end this! Once and for all, there will be no Blossoms other than ME!"

* * *

Blossom crashed into the indoor pool of the fitness center, sputtering and gasping for air. She quickly climbed out and laid on the ground moaning in pain and holding her cheek. Her sister's punch had hurt…physically it had been the worst thing Blossom had ever felt in her life. Emotionally…it felt even worse. She was fighting her sister…her sister wanted to kill her! Momoko really wanted to kill her! 

"It's not Momoko…it's not my big sister…" She heard a laugh and looked up fearfully, seeing Blight approaching and charging burning green-black energy in her hands.

"You're right, I'm not your big sister. I'm her better half, I'm her stronger half!" Blight kicked Blossom in the chin and sent her skipping across the water to the other side of the pool. Blight walked to the edge and grinned, preparing to charge across to kill Blossom. Something caught her eye and she looked down. Her black aura erupted when Blight saw her reflection staring back at her from the water. At first her expression was one of pure wickedness and hatred…then it blurred and became one of absolute horror and sorrow.

"Oh my God…oh my God…oh my God!!! What am I?!?! Oh my God! Kuriko! Oh God!" Blight began to scream, tears streaming down her cheeks as she clutched her hair and stared at her reflection. She dropped to her knees screaming and shaking her head, staring at the monster staring back at her from the water's depths. Blossom pushed up and stared across the room where Blight was clearly having a mental breakdown.

"Oh my God! Kuriko! Save me! Oh God don't let me be like this Kuriko! Someone save me! Help me! Don't let me do this anymore!" Blight continued screaming and crying, and in response her suit began to writhe in annoyance. The mask appeared on her face, silencing Blight's screams. She began to tear at the mask, trying to rip it off but she lost control of her arms, her hands going to her throat and squeezing tightly. Blight continued to scream into the mask, and then tumbled over and fell into the water. Blossom watched the water uneasily, seeing her sister thrashing beneath it. Seeing her reflection…it had woken Momoko up, she could finally see the monster she'd become. But the monster wasn't ready to let go.

"M-Momoko?" Blossom crawled to the edge of the now still water, praying for her sister's safety. Ripples began to appear in the surface of the water. The water began bubbling and a pillar of black and green light erupted from the center. Blossom fell onto her butt watching in horror and staring at the dark figure rising from the water. Blight's mask was now on permanently. It had fused with her face and was opened, revealing rows of long, demonically pointed teeth.

"Momoko is gone," The voice was horrible to listen to. It was Momoko's voice, completely dominated by a second high pitch alien sounding voice. Blossom rose and stared in horror as Blight, with her full demonic influence in control, grinned and prepared to charge at Blossom.

"Hypersonic Shockrang!" Blight looked over and screeched demonically when a giant blast of energy slammed into her and threw her into the opposite wall. Blossom looked up in shock and saw Butch stumble in, catching his giant boomerang and glaring at Blight angrily.

"You're Ms. Momoko's sister…" Blossom nodded, staring at the slightly older boy in wonder. He nodded and growled, "Let's save her! C'mon Little Blossom! Cyclone Clash!" The boomerang flew again, but this time Blight caught it and threw it back at him. Butch dodged the attack and charged at Blight, meeting her in midair over the pool. Blossom stared in wonder, seeing the feet and fists flying between the two. There was no way she could do that! She'd only gotten lucky when she hit Blight before; she had no hope of winning in hand-to-hand combat. Momoko was bigger, stronger, faster, and had actually learned how to fight! She looked down at her yo-yo and tried to figure out how she could possibly help that boy stop the monster so they could save Momoko. She clenched her grip on the yo-yo and began focusing all of her power into it, trying to will every ounce of energy she had in it. Blight had reacted when she managed to hit her; something about the yo-yo had hurt her worse than Buttercup's attacks. She had to hit her with one shot and make it count! That was their only hope! God she felt like Goku holding the spirit bomb and staring down Majin Buu!

"What are you doing?! Help me!" Butch yelled, getting hit in the stomach and losing his breath. He was thrown down into the pool while Blight laughed wickedly. She heard a whining sound and noticed a brilliant white light coming from her side and looked up. She gasped and froze seeing all of Blossom's white light radiating wildly around her. The pink light in the yo-yo erupted and with a steely glare Blossom looked up at Blight.

"This is for Momoko! Shining Spirit Bomb Shoot!" Blossom threw the yo-yo with all of her might; the shining sphere traveling at Blight whose mouth fell open in fear. She fired back a giant blast of energy, but when the yo-yo met its mark and hit her forehead she screamed hysterically. There was an explosion of pink light and when it cleared, Blight hung limply above the water. Her eyes closed and she fell out of the air, splashing in the water with a resounding crash.

Blossom fell to her knees, taking her compact out and opening it with a shaky hand. Her vision was going blurry and her arm that had been hit by the energy blast was hanging uselessly at her side.

"Someone help…Professor Ken…please help me, Mommy please I did it, please someone help me!" Blossom's vision swam and a soft thump echoed throughout the room as she collapsed. Everything grew deathly silent, and soon only the squeal of sirens overcame the emptiness.


	8. The Monday After

_**Cast the Darkest Shadow**_

**Deus Ex Procella**

* * *

A red glow illuminated the corner of Professor Utonium's emergency ward; a clock blinking 2 a.m. The good doctor himself stood hunched over an operating table, where the once proud leader of Powerpuff Girls Z lay thrashing and writhing under the particle separator beam. Professor Utonium released a deep, shaky breath trying to hold the beam steady. Blight screamed, her voice was horrible and demonic with only hints of Momoko's voice hiding in the back. Kakiko stood on the other side of the table, holding Blight's hand and watching with a heartbroken expression at the suffering her oldest daughter was clearly going through.

"Kakiko, please for the last time leave the room! I'd rather you don't see what may happen…I have a bad feeling about all of this," Kakiko shook her head, never taking her eyes off Momoko's screaming face. She comfortingly smoothed her daughter's hair, softly cooing and telling Momoko that everything was going to be all right.

"I can't Professor, I have to be here for her. Especially if she's going through something worse than being this…thing's puppet!" Professor Utonium turned up the power of the particle separator beam to continue trying to pull the black light out of Momoko's body. Blight only screamed louder and arched her back, tugging at her restraints with all of her might. Kakiko noticed that the suit seemed to be thrashing far more violently than Momoko's body was. The suit holding onto Momoko was what was hurting her daughter.

"You've done this before Professor, why is it so hard now?" Professor Utonium chanced wiping his brow then quickly caught his beam again, turning the power up further and causing Blight and Momoko both far more mind shattering pain.

"I've never dealt with a situation like this before, Kakiko. The black lights, fragments of the demon Kare's power, bond in a very weak manner to their host. The beam simply separates that radiation from their body and reverts them to normal with no pain involved. The demon seeds, they don't infect people directly, they usually infect an inanimate object and use it to control a human host," The Professor licked his lips and resisted the urge to push the beam to its full power. Momoko had to be suffering extreme physical trauma, he didn't want to push her into a coma. "This time though, Momoko was directly infected by a demon seed. It bonded with her, enhanced her inferior feelings, her jealousy, her envious feelings, it basically bonded with and brought out her dark side." Professor Utonium gestured toward Blight, not noticing the stricken look on Kakiko's face.

"That dark side…Kakiko is what you see latched onto Momoko's body. We aren't trying to remove a foreign radiation or substance from her body…" Blight lurched upward when the beam became stronger, the suit quivering and beginning to slowly pull from Momoko's skin. Momoko's voice became hellishly audible now. The pain of having the suit wrenched from her body unlike anything most people would ever experience in several lifetimes. "What I'm doing…I'm removing part of Momoko, no different than reaching under her skin and ripping her skeleton from her body."

"Momoko…oh God baby…" Kakiko let go of Blight's hand when both of them began to writhe and thrash, the black suit beginning to tear free. As it ripped from Momoko's body it left behind cuts and bruises, bleeding profusely but quickly healing. Momoko screamed loudly and fell silent, slipping into unconsciousness. Her body went limp, but the figure on the table continued to thrash. When Blight's hands ripped free from Momoko's, she howled and her hands began to dissolve into dark particles, which promptly vanished into thin air. Bit by bit more of Blight tore away from Momoko, screaming and howling, crying and cursing as more and more of Blight began to dissolve and vanish. Kakiko held Momoko's hand tightly, gently massaging her daughter's now freed appendage and staring in wide-eyed awe.

"She seems to be resisting further separation…I'm going to have to use the beam's full power," Professor Utonium saw Kakiko nod in understanding and turned the beam up to its full power. Blight screeched and every bit of the suit that remained leapt from Momoko's body, only thin strips still attached to the unconscious teenager. Blight's scream grew louder and louder, shaking the entire facility as bit by bit the entire suit dissolved and vanished, and with a bright flash, everything went silent.

"It's gone…that monster is gone! My dau…Professor? Professor what's wrong with her? Momoko isn't moving!!" Professor Utonium was already moving frantically, gathering together medical supplies.

"She's slipping into a critical state, I was right. No person could handle that kind of physical trauma without some backlash. I only hope I can stabilize her before she slips into a coma," Kakiko watched in horror, uncaring that the clock by the wall was now beeping 4 a.m.

* * *

Kuriko yawned and looked up, frowning when she saw that her mother had fallen asleep yet again. It was around noon and Kuriko, Miyako, Kaoru, Ken, Peach and Kakiko were gathered in the Kitazawa family's living room to watch an important news broadcast that Miyako had informed them was supposed to cover their showdown with Blight.

Miyako's face had been badly bruised, her nose had been badly broken, and she now had a permanent scar beneath her right eye from one of the multiple blows to the face she'd taken from her own wand. She had several bandages; however, thankfully all three had enhanced healing capabilities thanks to the Chemical Z in their bodies which would assuredly have all three of Powerpuff Girls Z back to full capacity in another day or so.

Kuriko had taken the least amount of damage, but it had still been heavily traumatizing to her young body. The pain from Blight's last attack had sent her into shock by the time help had arrived. Thankfully they'd managed to get her to the hospital before any permanent harm had come about. Her arm was now in a cast and sling, while overall she was the best off of the three.

In the same respect, Kaoru had taken the greatest amount of damage. Having fought Blight the most directly and having had a building collapse on her, Kaoru could walk albeit with a strained limp. Both arms were heavily bandaged. Her back had been injured the most, and because of this her abdomen was almost completely wrapped in bandages.

Kakiko had fallen asleep watching TV with the four children. It had taken until nearly ten in the morning before Professor Utonium and Mrs. Akatsutsumi had left the emergency unit with Momoko safely stabilized. The doctor had promptly gone to bed, while Kakiko had tried to be energetic and enthusiastic for her younger daughter's sake. Kuriko smiled and continued to lay against her mother, thankful that Kakiko had finally slipped into a deep slumber. Kaoru yawned and winced in pain.

"So uh…when does this show start? Man…I need to take more pain pills and I'll be out like a light if I do," Miyako nodded, also wincing in pain and holding one of her bruised cheeks. Kaoru stretched and grinned at the others. "Hey so this Wednesday there's this charity concert. My brother's and I are gonna be performing a new song. Are you guys gonna come?" Everyone voiced a confirmation, or potential confirmation. Ken looked up from the book he'd been reading and turned the channel on the TV. All three of the tired heroines snapped to attention seeing the news broadcast that was beginning.

* * *

"Good afternoon everyone, I am Neji Outa. Welcome to channel 252Z News. As I'm sure all of you are aware, Tokyo City was dealt a heavy blow yesterday with the appearance of an old hero turned villain. Senior analysts Hiroshi Gatakuwa and Nishina Kyoteki join me. Everyone has been speculating about Blight's appearance, while one thing is certain. The evil villain calling herself Blight, was originally Hyper—and then Burning—Blossom of Powerpuff Girls Z. Mr. Gatakuwa, how do you explain this change of heart?"

"Mr. Outa, frankly I'm not surprised. The first Blossom—whom everyone has begun to refer to as Blossom I—was hardly a shining example of heroism. In fact in the days leading up to this transformation, she had clearly begun to assert herself as more important than Tokyo City, much more her own teammates."

"I want to disagree, Mr. Gatakuwa, but the facts are present. Blight herself stated that she was Blossom I and that she fully intended to kill Bubbles, Buttercup and Blossom II for purely selfish reasons. That isn't very heroic behavior,"

"This is true, Mrs. Kyoteki. It does seem that despite her seemingly minor participation in the fight, Blossom II had shown more integrity than Blossom I. Also, judging from the footage and eyewitness reports, we can only say that Blossom II is the one who managed to finally stop Blight, which is more than can be said for Blossom I's list of achievements."

* * *

Kuriko had accidentally woken Kakiko up in the process of watching the report, which seemed to be highly insulting of the eldest Akatsutsumi daughter. Everyone present was becoming increasingly irate with the newscasters. The more they spoke the darker they painted Momoko, despite having no idea what kind of nightmare she must have gone through after being possessed by the demon seeds.

"How can they say that?! Even if she made bad decisions recently, Momoko was being controlled by the demon seeds!" Kaoru yelled, attempting to rise in indignation, but only succeeded in straining her back and taking her own breath away.  
"Those…jerks! They can't talk about my big sister that way!" Kuriko growled, finding it hard to even hear what they were saying knowing that it was putting-down Momoko. Kakiko was too tired to verbally protest and only shook her head in shock. Miyako held her hands to her face, both trying to ward off the pain from her medication wearing off and from amazement of the things being said.

Unbeknownst to everyone in the room, Momoko had recovered from her unconscious state and stumbled into the room to try to figure out what had happened recently, and how the others were doing. She froze in her steps and stared at the giant TV screen. Slowly her face fell from confusion to absolute misery listening to everything that was being said about her, when she wasn't even around to defend herself. Had she not been stricken so sorrowful by what the TV was saying, she may have been happy to see how violently her friends and family were disagreeing. But Momoko couldn't hear anything but the harsh words being thrown at her like javelins. With a paralyzing numb sweeping over her body Momoko stumbled out of the room and silently returned to the emergency unit where she had woken up.

"They all hate me…but I was…no…they're right I…I'm…it's all true…" Momoko closed the door behind her and curled up in the corner, pulling her knees to her chest and burying her face in her arms. Her entire body became wracked with sobs upon the horrifying realization that everything she'd tried to be was a lie. She had to finally realize that she had been a hero for all the wrong reasons, she hadn't been a hero for the sake of saving people…she'd been a hero for the selfish reason of impressing her sister. She wasn't a real hero, she was just a stupid girl who had somehow gotten a chance to show everyone just how foolish she really was.

* * *

Butch sat outside the research facility and stared in, seeing Ms. Momoko curled up in the corner, sobbing hysterically. His own eyes were watering, and he was mimicking Ms. Momoko's position, sitting on the tree branch and trying to keep his emotions in check. He had wanted to save Ms. Momoko, and in the process he'd managed to hurt her so bad. He hadn't hurt her, those jerks that were talking about her had hurt her. They didn't know anything! They had no idea what she'd gone through! She'd been taken over by the black light! Ms. Momoko hadn't had a chance to defend herself!

"Don't cry Ms. Momoko…please Ms. Momoko…please I want to help you…but I don't know how anymore…" He whispered, swallowing the lump in his throat and keeping himself from crying. Ms. Momoko was in such a bad place, and there was nothing he could do to help her. He wanted to fly in there and tell her everything would be okay, but would it? He couldn't promise that…and he didn't have any idea how to deal with a girl when she was crying. How could he tell her she was going to be okay if he was almost crying too? God things were so unfair…

* * *

It was only a few hours later, Professor Utonium and Kakiko were now fully awake and everyone had realized that Momoko had heard the news report. They had all gathered in the Kitazawa family living room, with the Akatsutsumi family seated on the sofa and everyone else scattered throughout the room. Professor Utonium stood at the front of the room in front of the blank TV screen. Everyone was trying to avoid staring at Momoko, who was slouching with her hands on her knees. Kuriko was at one side of her, holding her sister's arm reassuringly while Kakiko had a comforting arm around Momoko's shoulders.

"Momoko, about that report, it was," Momoko shook her head, and Professor Utonium stopped speaking. He nodded and sighed, seeing that Momoko wasn't in the mood to talk about it.

"I was thinking…" Momoko began, finally breaking the heavy silence that hung thick in the air. Everyone held their breath, hoping that Momoko's confidence—which they had seen was far more fragile than originally understood—hadn't been completely destroyed by the uncaring, harsh words of the newscasters. Momoko took a deep breath and side unevenly, "I think Kuriko should be Blossom from now on…even if there's a way for me to get my powers back, she's already used them better than I ever did," Kuriko frowned and opened her mouth to protest, however Momoko lowered her head and didn't appear willing to listen to any arguments.

"Momoko if this is about what those morons said, it's not true! You are a hero Momoko, you don't have to throw that away just because Kare used you…there was nothing you could do about it," Kaoru said, speaking a little slowly and trying to choose her words carefully to get the best effect. Momoko shook her head and stared at her feet.

"I want Kuriko to be Blossom…I only chose to be a hero so that people could notice me…I only wanted to be the leader because that would make me stand out, I just wanted…I only did it for all the wrong reasons," Kaoru wanted to argue further but didn't have the words to convince Momoko otherwise. Everyone sat in silence, but everyone had to accept the truth. Momoko wasn't going to be Blossom anymore.

* * *

The darkness shifted uneasily as he awoke once more. Sitting up, he licked his lips and grumbled, as a red light lit the darkness. The scene around him warped and shifted becoming a cityscape. He stepped out onto the roof of the building and watched as a great darkness passed through the air, blocking out the light for a brief moment. The massive dark light stopped before him, and he grinned wickedly.

_All of my power is here again; I can finally be complete once more! But wait…there is something still here. I can use this black light for a greater purpose, if I take in my light now I won't be able to bring it back to its previous form. True…once I have my full power I could easily crush those wretched brats. But…this would be so much more amusing! Hehehe this is much too good to pass up!_

The black light screamed as it was pulled into the darkness, ripped away from the living world and thrown into the abyss. Kare grinned and returned to the darkness himself. They may have saved that wretched girl from Blight, but no one would save them from what he had next!


End file.
